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CHRISTIAN DEVOTION 



HO^RS 



CHRISTIAN DEVOTION 



TRANSLATED Eft 03/ THE GERMAN OE 

A.JHOLUCK, D.D. 

PROFESSOR OF THEOLOGY IN THE UNIVERSITY OF HALLE \ 

COUNCILLOR OF THE SUPREME CONSISTORY, 

PRUSSIA 



ROBERT MENZIES, D.D. 



SECOND EDITION. 




NEW YORK : 
SCRIBNER, ARMSTRONG & CO 

1875. 



,T5 



PREFACE TO THE FIRST EDITION. 



INASMUCH as in the case of a devotional work, more than of 
any other, what is personal to the Author claims considera- 
tion, I take leave to communicate the following particulars : — 

For several years I had, in common with many others, felt the 
want of a sterling book of devotion — the product of our own 
times, and judiciously adapted to the prevailing wants; and I 
was surprised that, among the increasing number of works on the 
practice of Christianity, there appeared none calculated to be for 
the age in which we live what those of Thomas a Kempis and 
of John Arndt were for theirs. It is true that the Church still 
possesses the treasure bequeathed to her by those and other wit- 
nesses for the truth, who were masters of the art of speaking to 
the heart ; and that such sterling works of the olden time will 
never cease to sustain and foster vital Christianity, as long as the 
Bible continues to lay the foundation of it. At the same time, 
however, they do not by any means preclude the necessity of a 
work originating in the present day. For does not the difference 
between books of devotion and the Holy Scriptures consist in 
this, that the latter furnish the prolific seed of all the many and 
various developments of spiritual life, and consequently provide a 
fund of spiritual nourishment suited for all ages and all indivi- 
duals alike ; whereas a book of devotion delineates one particular 
form of it, modified by its own particular age, and by the peculi- 
arities of the individual author ? Is there not a connection be- 
tween the mode in which the religious life is at any time expressed 
and the then prevailing degree of culture ; and in consequence of 
this, do not different periods claim for a book of devotion a cor- 
responding difference in style ? And even, although that point be 
overlooked, considering that there are at least a few models of 
excellence in form which continue classical for all ages, has not 



vi Preface to the First Edition. 

* 

every age dangers and errors, discoveries and views, conflicts and 
afflictions, peculiarly its own ? There can be no doubt, therefore, 
that beside the devotional books of bygone times a place on the 
shelf is due to more modern productions ; and would not an A 
Kempis, a Tauler, and an Arndt, had they lived in the nineteenth 
century, have spoken with far greater power than they do to the 
hearts of the present generation ? 

The thought of labouring in this field of literature, however, 
was foreign to my mind until awakened by outward incidents. 
First of all, in the year 1826, when bowed down both in mind and 
body by long and severe indisposition, I began to write medita- 
tions on passages of Scripture chiefly with a view to my own 
consolation. The task was never finished. During my second 
visit to England, I received a fresh impulse by becoming ac- 
quainted with a work of which the plan appeared to me emi- 
nently suited for family worship. It contained select portions 
of sacred Scripture, chiefly of a practical tendency, and one for 
every day of the year. Short solutions of the difficulties were 
given for the purpose of promoting insight into the meaning of 
the Word. There was then appended a meditation upon the 
text, and finally a prayer embodying, as vows to God, the resolu- 
tions inspired by the subject. I still think that a devotional work 
executed according to such a plan is a real want of the Church 
of our native land still requiring to be supplied ; and I was stirred 
up repeatedly to think of composing a work of the sort. It was, 
however, the state of my eyesight, which for a length of time 
threatened to fail me, that proved the occasion of my writing the 
book which I now present to the Christian world. During the 
winter mornings and evenings I was prevented from pursuing 
my usual employments by candle-light, and it was then that, in 
quiet rumination, the plan of these ' Hours of Christian Devotion ' 
was matured. At the time, the danger of being compelled to re- 
sign for several years, if not for ever, my vocation as professor, 
was constantly present to my mind ; and if a season of affliction 
is not in general the most unfavourable for the production of a 
religious work, I may be permitted to indulge good hopes of the 
success of the present one, as not only the original conception but 
also the subsequent execution of it occupied what were very grave 
hours of my life. 

On the other hand, I am well aware how much there is to 
weaken this expectation. The curse of the present age, which 



Preface to the First Edition. vii 

has proved the main hindrance to the production of a sterling 
work of Christian devotion, will not spare mine. The force of 
intuition, and with it of vital faith, is broken by the predominance 
of the reflective power, which lifts its voice not merely in the 
professor's chair, where it has a right to be heard, but even in 
the closet of prayer. It is the fatal worm which is perpetually 
gnawing at the faith of our times, and consuming its vigour. 
When I speak of reflection, I do not mean, as many may mis- 
apprehend, the doubts which, may arise in individual minds. 
What I mean is, the habit of reflecting upon the reasonableness 
of faith which necessarily presupposes the positive existence of 
doubt. If, however, the true theologian be he who, after climb- 
ing the ladder of science to a height at which he has the un- 
clouded heaven in view, delights himself with gazing into it, and 
no longer thinks of the steps of the ladder save when employed 
in the friendly office of helping those at the foot to mount — if he, 
I say, be the true theologian, then certainly there is no better 
school for perfecting his education than that of affliction, for there 
he becomes practically confirmed in the article of faith, and has 
no leisure to look anywhere but above himself. Whether I have 
succeeded in supplying to any extent an existing want, time must 
decide. To myself it is a satisfaction to know that the work is not 
the product of reflection, but owes its origin to external induce- 
ments which were wholly unsolicited. 

For some time I could not make up my mind with regard to 
the plan. At first I hesitated whether to make it a work for 
family use or a devotional book of a more general character ; 
next, whether to adopt exclusively the form of meditation, and in 
that case, whether the meditation should adhere closely to the 
text, or take a wider range ; and finally, what arrangement would 
best answer the purpose in view. Hardly any of our books of 
devotion are methodically arranged. The casual contemplations 
which they deliver present themselves like flowers upon the 
meadow, to be plucked as any one likes. Something may perhaps 
be said in favour of this plan ; at any rate, such a lack of method 
is preferable to an excess of it, when obtained at the expense of 
freedom and liveliness. It may, however, be objected to such an 
unmethodical collection, that it is wholly inartistic; and, moreover, 
that there are arrangements by which certain advantages, intel- 
lectual as well as religious and moral, may be attained. I there- 
fore came to the resolution to give in these meditations a view of 



viii Preface to the First Edition. 

the Development of the Christian life on both its inward and out- 
ward sides. This further entailed that the book should be of a 
more general character, and also that it should take the form of 
meditations ; because for family worship, at which the whole 
household, including the servants, are present, this form is, in my 
opinion, less suitable than that which I have above described. 
By the plan which I have adopted I likewise hope to meet the 
wants of those who, at least, are not destitute of Christian feelings, 
but in whom these are not accompanied by a developed Christian 
intelligence. Bishop Mynster's book endeavours to combine edifi- 
cation with an exhaustive exposition of the doctrines as they are 
classed in systems of theology. My endeavour has been to do the 
same with regard to the doctrine of the Christian way of salvation. 
A rigid systematising is in general repugnant to my nature, and 
as my fondness for carving out of the raw material equals my 
aversion to the process of gluing, I have not sacrificed freedom of 
expatiation to regularity of plan. Within the limits of the course 
taken by the work, as a whole, freedom and variety obtain. Most 
books of devotion are chargeable with monotony. That is a fault 
which I have endeavoured to avoid — or rather, to speak more 
correctly, it is a fault into which the peculiarity of my mind has 
prevented me from falling. In writing these meditations I have 
felt myself in my proper element much more than in the composi- 
tion of sermons, the traditional form of which imposes fetters 
under which my mind often sighs for freedom. I have also ven- 
tured to lay aside the language of the pulpit, and, in so far as the 
subject admitted, have adopted the style sometimes of Claudius, 
sometimes of Thomas a Kempis, sometimes of Tersteegen, and 
at others, and indeed most frequently, of Luther. To that dear 
father of our Church I have owed more than I can tell in the 
composition of this work. In converse with such a man of steel — 
so pithy a nature — in whom certain phases of the Christian life 
were exhibited in the most finished style (although differently 
gifted individuals have displayed it more perfectly in others), I 
always felt myself edified, elevated, and strengthened. His image, 
I confess, had for several years presented itself to me under a 
cloud, for I fixed my eye too exclusively upon the outbreaks of his 
vigorous nature, ere yet it had been subdued by the Spirit of the 
Lord ; and I felt myself inspired with purer sentiments of reverence 
for Calvin, whose mind was so well disciplined both in thinking 
and acting. But on resuming my study of Luther, when the 



Preface to the First Edition. ix 

unction of faith and power consecrating his radically German 
character, the entire truthfulness of his being, and his wondrous 
childlike candour and naivete, once more unfolded themselves 
in their glory to my eye, I was constrained to turn to him again 
with the most entire and unmingled affection, and to exclaim, His 
foibles are so great only owing to the greatness of his virtues ! 

Poetry speaks to the heart in quite another dialect than prose. 
It was therefore my intention to introduce an abundance of choice 
extracts from our old hymns ; but it cost great labour to find them, 
and frequently I could not find at all such as I wished and re- 
quired ; I therefore spoke in the language of poetry myself. Very 
few of the verses dispersed throughout the work are by other 
authors. I am aware how much it thereby loses in pith and in 
ecclesiastical character ; but there has also been a gain in ori- 
ginality, which is no inconsiderable advantage for a devotional 
work. As for tone and language, I could have wished for the 
power of speaking with the tongue of a Luther or a Claudius to 
enable me to speak to all; but at least I have endeavoured to 
learn from these masters. 

The title chosen for the work will be disapproved by many. 
Some will wish not to be reminded in any way of the well-known 
" Stunden der Andacht ;" others will at once perceive in it a sen- 
tence of condemnation of that widely-circulating work. The 
reason why this title was selected was simply in order that they 
who are pleased with the cooking of the food in the " Stunden der 
Andacht," but doubt of its wholesome and nutritive qualities, 
might be at once informed that there is something here which is 
intended to supply their wants. I am not of the number who, the 
moment they see that book in any person's hands, would snatch 
it away, as I am aware that in many cases it has fostered the seeds 
of good ; but I certainly consider much of what it contains to be 
pernicious, and, most pernicious of all, the abundant nourishment 
it supplies to the conceit of self-righteousness. Besides, in works 
of this sort much depends not only upon what they give, but like- 
wise and not less upon what they withhold. Now, what the 
"Aarau Stunden der Andacht" withholds is nothing less than 
what the Evangelical Church declares to be the only true way of 
salvation. The object proposed by the following meditations is 
to show what that way is. They claim to be an impartial and 
healthy portraiture of the Gospel life of faith, and in that respect 
are calculated to reconcile all such honest admirers of the former 



x Preface to the Seventh Edition. 

work as are courageous enough not to shrink from the pain of self- 
knowledge. There is an inexcusable want of conscience in the 
way in which some men are now calling others Mystics and Pie- 
tists, while they wish to have it believed that these sectarian nick- 
names do not strike with equal force the Evangelical Church (I 
except Dr Bretschneider, who has the merit of speaking out, and 
who represents Luther and Melanchthon as the ringleaders of the 
Pietists). I therefore call upon all who may publicly express an 
opinion of this work, and feel disposed to characterise it aspietis- 
tical, to show so much at least of a sense of justice as expressly to 
state whether and to what extent they find the delineation it con- 
tains of the Gospel life of faith to be morbid ; or whether, with 
Bretschneider, they denominate this form of piety pietistical, just 
because it does delineate what the life of faith is, according to the 
view of the Evangelical Church. Considering the blind party zeal 
of the opponents, and the reiterated acts of crying injustice which 
they commit, it were to be wished that none of them would enter 
the polemical field without seriously taking to heart the words of 
our Lord in Matthew, vii. 12. 

Such are the remarks with which I desire to preface these 
* Hours of Christian Devotion.' May so much of divine truth as 
they contain find its way into the heart, and to God be the glory 
and the praise. 



A. THOLUCK. 



Halle, 29th September 1839. 



PREFACE TO THE SEVENTH EDITION. 

However little I could have expected it, I have had the gratifica- 
tion of emitting a sixth edition of this work, originally the fruit of 
hours of sorrow. It has been my endeavour to approximate the 
language to that simplicity, without which devotion can never 
reach its proper depth, more than was the case in the first edition. 
Since then many similar voices have been raised ; among them 
may this of mine still for a while retain its youth. 

A. THOLUCK. 
Halle, 2$th October 1859. 



AUTHOR'S PREFACE TO THE 
ENGLISH TRANSLATION. 



IT is a gratification to me to see those Hours of Devotion 
translated into the English tongue, and presented to the 
nation by whom so many of my other works have already met 
with so kind a reception. The hindrance to an earlier trans- 
lation of the work, as I anticipated from the first, and have 
now learned as a fact, has been its peculiarly German char- 
acter. The texts of Scripture are cited and explained as they 
stand in Luther's version of the Bible ; numerous passages 
are quoted from the writings of that reformer, and of other 
godly German authors ; and a text is occasionally taken from 
the Apocrypha. Above all, however, I must here refer to the 
poetry prefixed as mottoes to the several meditations, and 
appended to them at the end. To meet this last obstacle, 
the translators of different countries have adopted different 
methods. The Swede has inserted hymns of his own Church ; 
the Dane poetry of his own making ; and the French trans- 
lator has omitted the poetry altogether, and generally abridged 
even the prose text. The esteemed friend who has executed 
this English translation has not allowed himself to be deterred 
by any of these difficulties, and, as it appears, has even van- 



xii Preface to English Translation. 

quished with some success the last of them — that, namely, 
presented by the poetry. 

I deem it of little importance that one of the parts of the 
book is not included in this translation ; x I hope that, in 
spite of that omission, it contains a kernel which may take 
root and grow up in the heart of the readers. I have had the 
satisfaction of finding in a remote Waldensian valley a pious 
soul to whom the book, even in the extremely abridged form 
of the French translation, had become a source of happiness 
and edification. The hope I entertain for it rests upon the 
fact, that in place of being composed, like other works of the 
kind, I believe I can say of it with truth that it was rather an 
effusion. It was the fruit of a mind which sought to reap good 
to the Church from hours of sorrow as well as of joy, for it 
originated in a season of heavy trial, when, owing to the weak- 
ness of my eyesight, I was prevented in th© winter evenings 
from prosecuting my learned studies. Like the pious Ter- 
steegen, I then thought with myself : " If my God does not 
will as I do, I will as He does, and thus we always keep on 
friendly terms." I also sought to extract a gratification from 
those hours of bitter suffering by presenting to Christian souls 
a fruit of the heart in place of a labour of the head. And the 
Lord has been pleased to bless it, as I know by testimonies 
from the Churches of various countries which have reached 
me, and made me ashamed. I therefore indulge the hope, 
that in that Christian land, which above most others has been 
blessed with a riches of devotional books, this one also, in its 
own peculiar style, will find minds and hearts which will feel its 
attraction. It has a specialty adapted to the present religious 
wants of Britain ; for while it edifies it seeks to instruct, and that 

1 This refers to the twelve Meditations on the Fasts and Festivals. These 
form an independent work. 



Preface to English Translation, xiii 

on the practical duties of the Christian life. This, no doubt, 
it does exclusively upon the ground on which alone the fruits 
of life ever grow — I mean, the ground of faith. I have been 
young, but now am old — I have spent a whole lifetime in 
battling against infidelity with the weapons of apologetical 
science, — but I have become ever more and more convinced 
that the way to the heart does not lie through the head ; and 
that the only way to the conversion of the head lies through a 
converted heart, which already tastes the living fruits of the 
Gospel. 

A. THOLUCK. 



METRICAL PROGRAMME. 



I. GENERAL PART. 

I. If %abt hz from txuz g&%®W ompinzo, 
lis sols foundation's nnformineo. 



Oh happy who themselves condemn, . 
Faith proves a saving power to them ; 
And faith on Holy Scripture rests, 
Which, what God is, what man, attests : 



1EDITATIONS. 

i- 8 

9-15 
16-19 
20-25 



II. Mtyn Jmtfr % hmi to f ©W® nnsrals, 
^ull ntang a flofoa its t\sxm itfoals. 



Faithful and kind, a gardener here 
Labours from weeds the beds to clear ; 
While late and early dew in showers 
From heaven revives the drooping flowers : 
Though clouds at times the sky invest, 
In the cool shade some plants thrive best : , 
Inside the garden fairest shows, 
Yet to earth's ends its perfume throws ; 
And all life's ranks and handicrafts 
Partake the fragrance which it wafts ; 



26-30 
31-40 
41-47 

48-55 
56-64 



Metrical Programme. xv 



III. S^owg^ naan t\z bright \nz% hot unb bu, 

1#|!$ an sofan Moa tun %afos azattg. . 65-67 



II. SPECIAL PART. 

THE CIRCLE OF HUMAN LIFE. 

Oh who will teach me, ere it fleets away, 

To make the most of life's brief winter day ? . . 68, 69 

Behold, the Church extends the hand of grace 

To help the pilgrim entering on the race ; 

And, ere the threatening storms obscure the sky, 

Yields him a refuge in her sanctuary : . . . . . 70 

That hand he holds until, in strength increased, 

The Master calls him to the holy feast, 

Where the new man receives congenial food, 

As died the old in the baptismal flood : . . . . 71, 72 

Thus, trained by home and Church to meet the strife, 

In manhood's strength he takes the field of life ; 

And, first the wide and various scene explored, 

Selects some spot on which to serve the Lord : 73 

Next, that the hours of toil may sweetly glide, 

He calls the gentle helpmate to his side, .... 74 

And labours on, till, old and weary grown, 

Kind death approaching, mows the veteran down : . . 75 

Then meet the mourners round his silent grave, 

And God adore for the dear friend He gave : 76 



TABLE OF CONTENTS. 



1. We are the offspring of God. 

2. Our days are few and full of trouble. 

3. One thing is needful. 

4. Teach us to number our days. 

5. All of us have sinned. 

6. I was shapen in iniquity. 

7. In many things we offend. 

8. Though I be unconscious of guilt, I am not therefore justified. 

9. Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. 

10. We are justified freely by His grace, through the redemption that is 

in Christ Jesus. 

11. The Lord hath loved me with an everlasting love. 

12. I obtained mercy, because I resisted ignorantly in unbelief. 

13. Christ is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. 

14. Faith is a new sense. 

15. The heavens declare the glory of God. 

16. The law of the Lord converteth souls. 

17. Blessed is he who meditateth day and night in the law of the Lord. 

18. I am not come to destroy the law or the prophets. 

19. O Lord, how great are Thy works, and Thy thoughts are very deep. 

20. Thou understandest my thoughts afar off. 

21. He doeth according to His will. 

22. The wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness. 

23. The Lord giveth every one according to his ways. 

24. Knowest thou not that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repent- 

ance. 

25. The lot is cast into the lap, but the disposing thereof is of the Lord. 

26. The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want. 

27. The vinedresser purges the vine. 

28. He hath filled me with bitterness. 



Table of Contents. xvii 

29. Count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations. 

30. Since I spake against my son, I do earnestly remember him still. 

31. Before I was afflicted I went astray. 

32. Of His fulness have all we received, and grace for grace. 

33. Draw nigh to God, and He will draw nigh to you. 

34. Jesus withdrew Himself to pray. 

35. The Spirit maketh intercession for us with groanings that cannot be 

uttered. 

36. God is the chief good. 

37. This is our confidence, that if we ask anything according to His will, 

He heareth us. 

38. The Lord's Prayer. 

39. I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. 

40. They continued steadfastly in fellowship. 

41. How long halt ye between two opinions ? 

42. Sin shall not have dominion over you, for ye are under grace. 

43. I am formed out of the clay. 

44. Thou didst hide Thy face and I was troubled. 

45. Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. 

46. The heart is deceitful above all things, who can know it ? 

47. A just man falleth seven times, and riseth up again ; but the wicked 

shall fall into mischief. 

48. Abraham against hope believed in hope. 

49. In Christ Jesus neither circumcision availeth anything, nor uncircum- 

cision, but faith which worketh by love. 

50. Now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three ; but the greatest of these 

is charity. 

51. Know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost ? 

52. The love of money is the root of all evil. 

53. Learn of me, for I am meek and lowly in heart. 

54. Learn of me, for I am meek and lowly in heart. 

55. Put away lying, and speak every man truth with his neighbour. 

56. Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. 

57. Let every man abide in the same calling wherein he was called. 

58. He that is faithful in that which is least, is faithful also in much. 

59. There are many members, yet but one body. 

60. Husband and wife are no more twain, but one flesh ; what, therefore, 

God hath joined, let not man put asunder. 

61. Marriage is a great mystery; but I speak concerning Christ and the 

Church. 

62. Thy wife shall be as a fruitful vine by the sides of thine house ; thy 

children like olive-plants round thy table. 

63. Suffer little children to come unto me. 



xviii Table of Contents. 

64. He that converteth a sinner from the error of his ways shall save a 

soul from death. 

65. It doth not yet appear what we shall be. 

66. I saw a new heaven and a new earth. 

67. The creature itself shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption. 



THE CIRCLE OF HUMAN LIFE. 

68. New- Year's Day. 

69. A birthday. 

70. Baptism. 

71. Profession of faith. 

72. The Lord's Supper. 

73. Outset in life. 

74. Marriage. 

75. The evening of life. 

76. The death of the Christian. 



I. 



jf JTofre b from taw <#^l&i fc&jmiwfr, 
Its sow fanrft}ntiQXi8 tmbxrmttwb. 



HOURS OF DEVOTION. 



1. 

are tjje <&ii&pxin$ of @atr. 

God's son thou art, no doubt, bid ah ! the one 
Who fled his Father's house, and was undone. 

Acts, xvii. 28. " In Him we live, and move, and have our 
being ; as certain also of your own poets have said, For 
we are also His offspring." 

I AM the offspring of God, for in Him we live, and move, 
and have our being. Of this consciousness — the con- 
sciousness that God is not afar off, but a God that is near — 
some trace, as I imagine, will be found in every human being 
not sophisticated by education or depraved by a life of sin. 
There must be something in our nature which connects us 
with the great Fountain of truth, goodness, and beauty; for 
otherwise how could we take delight in the true, the good, and 
the beautiful? The more simple and innocent a man is, the 
more vividly he feels that he is related to God, although into 
the nature of the relationship he has no clear insight. And 
this feeling must be rooted amazingly deep in the heart, for 
we hold it fast in spite of the misery and sin which abound in 



4 i. We are the Offspring of God. 

the world, and which seem to give it the lie. I never could 
divest myself of the conviction that in this house of clay 1 
there dwells a spirit whose native country is the other world. 
And to that other world the way is unobstructed. Angels 
still fly down from it, and bring messages to us here on earth. 
Yes, "God is a God at hand, and not afar off" from His 
creatures. 2 

All this I have said to myself; and yet when I reflect upon 
the miseries of man's life, the fickleness and frailty of his 
heart, and the black wickedness which he is capable of com- 
mitting, I am far less inclined to wonder at those who, being 
destitute of the light of God's Word, doubt of their divine ex- 
traction, than at those who believe it. " Man that is born of 
woman is of few days, and full of trouble. He cometh forth 
like a flower, and is cut down : he fleeth also as a shadow, and 
continueth not." 3 Oh, how pathetically do these words, from 
an early age of the world, express the sentiment, which sug- 
gests itself far more readily to the mind of him who contem- 
plates the surface of human life than does the exclamation, 
" We are the offspring of God " ! Hear, too, how Luther de- 
scribes the human heart. " It is," he says, " like a ship at 
sea, tossed by tempests from the four quarters of the globe. 
On this side beat fear and anxiety about future misfortunes — 
on that, trouble and sorrow about present evil. Here pre- 
sumption and hope of prosperity to come inflate, there blow 
the gales of joy and confidence in present blessings." How, 
then, can this fleeting child of an hour, this slave of every 
passion, be the offspring of God ? It is a riddle ; who can 
solve it? 

So, indeed, may they exclaim who have not yet taken the 
divine Word to be the light of their feet. But, God be 
thanked ! I know the simple solution. Man is the son of 
God; but he is the prodigal son, now sojourning in a far 
country and feeding upon husks. 

1 Job, x. 9 ; iv. 19. 2 Jer. xxiii. 23. 3 Job, xiv. 1, 2. 



I. We are the Offspring of God. 5 

From God Himself I claim descent, of no mean lineage I ; 
Why then from heaven averted turns to earth my grovelling eye ? 
God lives and moves within me, sure that proves no vulgar birth ! 
And yet I live in bondage to the meanest things of earth. 
Read me this riddle : Yes, my child, thou art of God the son— 
That son who turned a prodigal, and fled and was undone. 

Yes, here too, as in so many other instances, Holy Scripture 
reconciles the contradictory, and justifies each of the conflict- 
ing feelings in the human heart. But if I am the prodigal son, 
surely my first and great concern should be to understand cor- 
rectly the miserable state to which I have been reduced. On 
this subject I must not allow myself to be dazzled by the re- 
collection of the primeval nobility of my nature. That recol- 
lection should at the most only serve to kindle aspiration in 
my heart. How comes it that so many, yielding to the seduc- 
tion of a foolish pride, disavow the debasing penury and 
wretchedness with which we are encompassed? They are like 
persons on whose ear some discord grates, but who persuade 
themselves that it is a concord, until at last they blunt their 
sense of hearing. Or they are like the unjust steward in the 
parable ; 1 being ashamed to beg, they think it better to cheat, 
at least themselves. I will not imitate them. No ; I acknow- 
ledge myself to be the prodigal, living in the far country, and 
feeding upon husks. The longing of my heart goes vehemently 
forth towards the land of spiritual freedom ; it is my true father- 
land, and 

He who has known a home will kiss no more 
The chain that binds him to a foreign shore. 

Yes, I too exclaim, " I am the offspring of God," but I do 
it with eyes suffused with tears ; for I perceive that the divine 
element within me is, contrary to its nature, thwarted, whereas 
of right it ought to reign. Man is the lost sheep once fed 
beneath the crook of the good Shepherd, and which then had 
sunshine and green pastures in abundance, but which has now 

1 Luke, xvi. 3. 



6 i. We are the Offspring of God. 

gone astray in the wilderness and fallen among thorns. He is 
the lost penny, stamped with the image of a great king, but 
which has been trodden in the dust till scarce a trace of the 
august features can any longer be discerned. 1 And yet the 
immortal life from God, which is in me, is merely overpowered 
by death, but not extinguished. A resurrection-germ survives 
amid the fatal slumber, and shoots and labours towards the sun. 
I am aware that evil has the might within me, but I am also 
aware that to good belongs the right. I have read how in the 
land of Japan there is both a temporal and a spiritual emperor, 
and that the former possesses all the power, but is every year 
obliged to pay homage to the latter. There is the same rela- 
tion between my sinful Adam and that divine image which 
even the Fall has not wholly obliterated from the soul of 
man. 2 

So yearns the prodigal and all that is within him after that 
archetypal and supremely perfect Son, above whose head the 
heavens were once opened, and the voice exclaimed, " This is 
my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased." For Him he 
pants, to loose his bonds, and restore afresh the features of the 
divine likeness. I still retain within me, like a faint remem- 
brance, a truth of God, which the apostle says was also "mani- 
fest in " the heathen, but was by them " held in unrighteous- 
ness ; " 3 but I am like one who dreams, and the truth does 
not take distinct shape before my eyes. We often say we 
know a name although at the moment we cannot call it to 
mind ; but let another come and utter the long-forgotten word 
and we recognise it at once. The same happens to us with 
respect to that truth from God in which we live, and move, 
and have our being, but which we are unable to recall. He 
who lay in the Father's bosom has uttered the word of it, and 
it too we recognise. Since then we see, what we never saw 
before, that we are prodigal sons ; but at the same time we see 
the way which leads to our home. 

1 Luke, xv. 8. 2 James, iii. 9. 3 Rom. i. 18, 32. 



2. Our Days are few and full of Trouble. 



The Soul. 

My God and Father ! I pant after Thee, and can 'no longer 
be satisfied with anything else. Thou art the source of my 
being, and, consequently, its end and aim. Wilt Thou know 
me again, all disfigured as I am ? 

The Lord. 

Make Christ thy robe, and then thou shalt be known, 
If thou art His, for mine I will thee own. 
Thy high descent no heritage bestows ; 
He is my son, whose soul my image shows. 



2. 

<©ur Hags are to atio full of trouble. 

The roses grow on thorns, say I, 

The thorns on roses, you reply ; 

And to determine which has hit 

The truth will tax a subtle wit ; 

Though sure it makes a difference vast, 

Which word stands first and which comes last. 

Ecclus. xl. 1-4. " Great travail is created for every man, 
and an heavy yoke is upon the sons of Adam, from the day 
that they go out of their mother's womb till the day that 
they return to the mother of all things. Their imagina- 
tion of things to come, and the day of death, trouble their 
thoughts and cause fear of heart ; from him that sitteth 
on the throne of glory, unto him that is humbled in earth 
and ashes ; from him that weareth the purple and a crown, 
unto him that is clothed with a linen frock." 



8 2. Our Days are few and full of Trouble. 

WHETHER there be more of joy or sorrow in human 
life is a question on which very different opinions 
are entertained. In answering it, many circumstances must 
be taken into account, and none more than the quantity of 
human misery which we admit within our observation. There 
was once an Eastern king who, desirous that his eye might 
never fall upon the wretchedness of his subjects, barred the 
entrance of his palace even to the light of the sun, and beneath 
the glitter of variegated lamps spent his days in jollity and 
mirth. And so might any one spend his days, could he be 
content to live by lamp-light, and contrive to exclude from his 
mind all that afflicts himself and others. That is what I 
cannot do. I survey the foes which, in countless hosts within 
us and without, wage war with human happiness. I reflect on 
the heaps of disappointed hopes that lie behind, and on the 
no less numerous fears of future evil which brood before, every 
member of our race. I learn from experience that there is 
scarce a family, scarce even a single individual, who is not 
burdened with some peculiar care, or wounded by some secret 
sorrow, according to the words of the poet — 

" In this vain world the days are not all fair — 
To suffer is the work we have to do ; 
And every one has got a cross to bear, 
And every one some secret heart-ache too." 

I think upon the sufferings which men inflict upon each other, 
and upon all the heavy strokes which they receive from the 
hand of God ; and when I then direct my view to what they 
usually consider the compensation — I mean their so-called 
pleasures and enjoyments — it always appears to me as if the 
thousands who exult over the rich delights of life were wilfully 
cherishing a delusion which, in a sober mood, and had they but 
leisure to be alone, would vanish, and give place to the confes- 
sion that they were not happy. And when I further reflect on 
the kind of consolation with which they try to sweeten the bit- 
terness of life and death — those paltry schoolboy rhymes, by 



2. Our Days are few and full of Trouble. 9 

which they fain would sing to rest their hearts that will not 
rest, such as — 

*' Taste life's glad moments, 
While the wasting taper glows ; " 

or, 

" Begone, dull care!" 

and many of the same sort— O children ! I exclaim, was ever 
a conflagration stamped out with the foot, or a falling ava- 
lanche arrested by the hand ? 

Of a truth, no clear-sighted man can doubt for a moment 
that this earth, on which hours of tame pleasure must needs 
be drowned in weeks of bitter anguish, is no longer a paradise. 
Deny it if you can, ye who involuntarily pay homage to the 
truth and are constrained to sing — 

Where grows the rose that has no thorn? 

My child, I cannot tell ; 
No rose e'er blossomed here on earth, 

That had not thorns as well. 

Nay, have not even the sages of the Gentile world sung to us 
"That every good vouchsafed to mortals is accompanied by 
two sorrows"? and as for the attempt to calm the troubled 
heart by alleging that without the thorns the roses would give 
us no pleasure, I never could persuade myself that that was 
true. For how comes it, then, that we dream of a hereafter 
where the roses have no thorns, and where the garlands never 
wither ? If the light could not gladden the heart of man with- 
out its attendant shadow, the shadow of this earth would neces- 
sarily stretch across into the land of the blessed. 

No : others may pass over the tears and shadows of this 
earthly life unconcerned — I cannot. Without belying my in- 
most convictions, I must assent to the words of the son of 
Sirach, that " Great travail is created for every man, and an 
heavy yoke is upon the sons of Adam, from the day that they 
go out of their mother's womb till the day that they return to 



io 2. Our Days are few and full of Trouble. 

the mother of all things." I must admit that the same heavy- 
yoke weighs upon him " that weareth the purple and a crown," 
as upon him " that is clothed with a linen frock." For though 
earthly misery, like sin, takes various shapes, not without 
reason did the ancients give wings to Care, for it is present in 
every place. 

And I know of no key to the deep wretchedness of Adam's 
race save that which the Scriptures supply, when they tell us 
that the thistles and thorns first entered the earth with sin, and 
shall never be wholly extirpated save in that new earth wherein 
dwelleth righteousness. 1 No doubt this is a truth which it is 
very hard to confess. Admit it ; and then every thorn upon 
the flowers of earth has a spiritual and unseen sting which 
wounds more sharply than that which pierces from without. 
And then, too, every thorn becomes to us a preacher of repent- 
ance. Oh, how deep a humiliation this is, and how revolting 
to the flesh ! Are the cares which infest the earth already so 
many and bitter; and yet must I feel in every one of them 
the additional sting of sin? It is even so; but in the very 
fact that so it is, behold, O man, the badge of thy nobility ! 
Here is a proof that misery and pain, the crown of thorns and 
the bitter cross, appertain no more to thee than they did to 
thy Saviour. Our suffering is our bondage; and when "the 
glorious liberty of the children of God shall come," 2 they shall 
also be relieved from the thorny crown and the bitter cross. 
We shall then have grown to full age : for the present we are 
minors, and need the rod. 

" It is a good thing," says the prophet, " for a man that he 
bear the yoke in his youth." * The days of our life on earth 
are to us all a time of youth. And though " no chastening for 
the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous; nevertheless 
afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto 
them which are exercised thereby." 4 Yes : afterwards that 
peaceable fruit of righteousness shall we likewise reap. 

1 2 Peter, iii. 13 ; Rev. xxi. 1. 2 Rom. viii. 21. 

3 Lam. iii. 27. 4 Heb. xii. 11. 



2. Our Days are few and full of Trouble. 1 1 

And all the less can we avoid being humbled under tribu- 
lation, in respect that the heaviest strokes which fall upon us 
are those inflicted by our fellow-meji. " Let me fall into the 
hand of the Lord, and let me not fall into the hand of men," 1 
was the prayer of the saints of old. Strokes of that sort serve 
to remind me of my own sin. Even the son of Sirach, in 
describing the misery of life, speaks of " anger, zeal, envy, 
contradiction, and variance ; " and these, in fact, are the chief 
of the stripes with which man scourges his brother. But if 
earthly affliction of every sort makes us long for " an appeaser 
of all strife, ' ; much more does this ! It is a perpetual dis- 
course upon the theme, how greatly we stand in need of a 
Prince of Peace to reign over us. 

When I think what must have become of me if I had passed 
all my life without having ever felt the weight of the divine 
hand, I shudder. Oh, how much good tribulation has done 
me ! How it has rooted up the weeds and lopped off the 
rank shoots of sin in my nature ; and how, beneath its in- 
fluence, has my longing after a Saviour grown more and more 
intense ! And when I further reflect how forgetful of God 
men are even now, overwhelmed although they be with so vast 
an ocean of tribulation and misery, I scarcely venture to figure 
to myself what they must have been without it. Would they 
ever have thought at all of an appeaser of discord, seeing that 
even in their present state they imagine they can dispense 
with His help ? 

O Lord, I refuse not Thy correction, for it is just : withhold 
not Thou from me Thy strokes; they are full of love and 
goodness. My soul is well pleased that Thou hast beset the 
ways of men with thorns. Oh, may all the thorns of earth 
fulfil their end, and discourse to me of the great heart-ache 
which sin has brought upon humanity ! O Lord, we have 
merited this so bitter wrath of Thine, for great has been our 
transgression. But Thou hast proclaimed that "Whoso con- 
fesseth his sins and forsaketh them shall have mercy ; " 2 and 
1 Ecclus. ii. 18 ; 2 Sam. xxiv. 14. 2 Prov. xxviii. 13. 



12 3« One Thing is needful. 

as I now confess my sins unto Thee, oh let me obtain the 
mercy which Thou hast promised. 

The Soul. 

Where can the rose that has no thorn be found ? 

Not on this earth of ours ; 
But, tell me, shall earth s roses always wound 

The hand that plucks the flowers ? 

The Lord. 

I gave the rose at first a harmless boon, 

The thorns are thine alone ; 
But ponder well the truth they teach, and soon 

Their pain will all be gone. 



Men blindly trifle this brief life away, 
As thoughtless children treat their toys at play, 
Which, prized at first, then spoilt, they cast aside 
As ebbs the fit of fancy, like the tide. 
We live without an aim, nor heed at all 
The strict account for which the Judge will call. 
Yet if the creature with his God contend, 
Can any question how the strife must end ? 

Luke, x. 41, 42. "And Jesus answered and said unto her, 
Martha, Martha, thou art careful and troubled about 
many things ; but one thing is needful : and Mary hath 
chosen that good part which shall not be taken away 
from her." 

THERE is nothing which more clearly shows the deceit- 
fulness of sin, than the fact that men so seldom inquire 
for what purpose they have come into the world. Sometimes, 



3. One Thing is needful. 13 

no doubt, we do hear persons who would not be thought 
totally devoid of Christianity, saying to themselves, " I must 
work while it is day," — as if all depended upon the working, 
and nothing upon the nature of the work. He who carries on 
some of the homelier trades of life seems likely to arrive at the 
conviction that, in and of itself, his occupation can never be 
the chief end and object of his existence, far sooner than he 
whose employment is of a higher kind. The Lord has told us 
that man was not made even for so external a work as keeping 
the Sabbath ; 1 and far less, methinks, can he have been made 
to keep a shop, or hew wood, or exercise any common handi- 
craft. These are all a mere Marthds service. 

But oh how fatally does the deceitfulness of sin make sport 
of the men who cultivate learning and science and art ! These 
things have quite a spiritual aspect, and the pursuit of them 
appears a high and noble vocation. Nor does one in ten of 
those who embrace it consider that, unless he make the love 
and glory of God his beginning and end, labour in the fields 
of literature and science is as much a bondage and a thraldom 
as that of the hind at the plough. 

Ah! then no more across the main 

For truth and wisdom fly ; 
By love alone can souls obtain 

Worth and nobility. 

In like manner, on the other hand, the humblest handicraft, 
when exercised from love to God and for His sake, becomes 
a lofty spiritual function. According to the words of Luther — 

" No holier work the priest performs, 
Than when in faith, to sweep the room, 
The Christian housemaid plies her broom." 

History speaks to us of earnest men, who, from their first 
outset on the path of life, felt themselves secretly constrained 
to inquire where the path would lead them. They could not 

1 Mark, ii. 27. 



14 3- One Thing is needful. 

but wonder at others who, though confessing themselves to be 
travellers, could yet tarry at the inns by the wayside, and 
trifle away their time, instead of hastening forward and pre- 
paring for the place destined to be their abode for ever. But 
oh how seldom are such characters to be found ! The world 
ought justly to marvel at the man who makes no inquiry about 
his Maker or his Maker's will, as at something unnatural; 
whereas it almost seems to be the world's opinion that he is 
the monster who takes it into his head to be seriously con- 
cerned about any such matter. And yet the Being whom men 
thus forget is the God who made them ! 

But, while forgetting God, what a multitude of other things 
they trouble themselves about, especially in these days of 
sweet turmoil ! How impetuously they pursue a good which 
all the while they might find within their reach ! With what 
passionate ardour do many even of those who are above slak- 
ing their thirst at the marshes by the wayside, hunt in the fields 
of art and science for that sovereign balm which is to heal, and 
heal for ever, all the wounds of humanity ! How piteously 
they mourn the loss of any opportunity to admire some master- 
piece of art, as if they had trifled away the grace of God ; and 
how eagerly they grasp at every new discovery in science as 
if it were a draught that would wake the dead ! That science 
is good and art beautiful none can deny • but alas ! until the 
wounds of the soul be healed, art and science only inflame, and 
cannot quench its thirst. Out upon the headlong impetuosity 
of men 

Who seek on ocean's boundless sands, 

But seek in vain, the pearl which 'scapes their eye, 

Hid in the refuge of some tiny shell ! 

Yes : not afar off have we to search for the pearl of great 
price — that pearl, to possess himself of which a man ought to 
sell all that he hath. The Son of God has bequeathed it to His 
Church ; and, since that day, wherever a church exists, there 
also is a market where the pearl may be purchased. Out 



3. One Thing is needful. 15 

upon the headlong impetuosity of mankind ! Oh, while with 
thankful heart I look forth from my refuge among the green 
pastures and the still waters, and behold the multitude rushing 
with such haste and clamour along, and always passing the 
goal, at which, if they but knew it, it is their wish to arrive, 
how I long to cry out to them — 

Why thus precipitate? 
In your hot haste to reach you pass the gate ! 

Jesus, my Lord, truly dost Thou say that souls which, like 
Martha, labour only for this world's meat, are careful and 
troubled about many things, and that the better part is that 
which Mary chose ; for since I began to hunger for the meat 
of heaven, my carefulness and trouble are greatly subdued, and 
now are always mingled with some sense of peace ; whereas 
before, so long as I strove after earthly blessings and earthly 
wisdom alone, I was never free from restlessness and disquiet. 
But to the violent, who, with sword in hand, would make a 
conquest of Thee, Thou never yieldest. They only find who 
seek Thee with childlike hearts. The millions of sunbeams 
that warm and cherish us come all of them at once, but 
all so softly and silently down; and even so dost Thou de- 
sire to be sought — earnestly, indeed, but not with hot and 
boisterous haste. Dear Lord ! when Mary took her place at 
Thy feet, Thou didst sit down beside her; and to every soul 
that longs after Thee Thou wilt do the same. Thy only wish 
is to see us all at Thy feet like her. From the silence that 
reigns in Thy school, I used to think that life in a manner 
ceased when love to Thee began ; and, behold, I have found 
that "in loving Thee I first began to live" So long as I was 
out of the centre I roved around the whole circumference of 
creation, and had no rest. I found the centre in finding God, 
and I need to wander about for rest no more. 

True it is that avocations such as Martha's are also ap- 
pointed for us in this life ; and Thou Thyself, O Jesus, by 
Thy humble labours in the carpenter's shop, hast sanctified 



1 6 3. One Thing is needful. 

all trades and handicrafts, thereby putting me to shame, and 
teaching me by Thy example to count no labour which life 
imposes, ignoble or unclean. A light in the centre illumines 
the whole circumference ; and even so, when there is grace in 
the heart, it radiates its brightness upon all man's outward 
employments. Martha, then, performs her service, but she 
does it with the mind of Mary. Holy Jesus ! doubtless Thy 
abour in the shop of Joseph was as much a worship as Thy 
prayers in the temple. It was ever Thy meat to do Thy 
heavenly Father's will, and with this hidden manna Thou wert 
regaled even when standing at the carpenter's bench. And 
the same hidden manna shall also be my food, whether in my 
workshop or at my desk, whether labouring in the fields or 
walking in the streets. 

In every work, however mean, 

Some touch of heaven we trace, 
If but the heart within have felt 

The influence of grace. 
And art and skill, beneath love's ray, 
Their choicest flowers and fruits display. 

O Lord, rich in grace, when Thou takest possession of the 
heart, how beautifully all the natural talents Thou hast lent 
us expand ! Beneath the sunny influence of Thy love even 
our secular employments thrive and prosper. Oh, if they but 
knew, how would the men who only strive for success in tem- 
poral affairs take to heart what Thy Word avers, that " godli- 
ness is profitable unto all things, having promise of the life 
that now is, and of that which is to come " ! 1 And were our 
philosophers and artists thoroughly penetrated by the light and 
warmth of the Sun of grace, how would the arts and sciences 
of this earthly life flourish as they have never yet done ; and 
how much brighter would be the hue, and richer the fragrance, 
of the fruit they bore ! Yes, one thing is needful. 

Give me the one chief good, and, that possessed, 
I, in that one, will relish all the rest. 



1 1 Tim. iv. 8. 



4. Teach us to member our Days. 1 7 



All Thou pervadest, Lord, oh let Thy light 

Be shed upon my darkened sight ! 

As tender flowers their cups unfold, 

And open to the sunbeams hold, 

So let me too 

Still fondly do,— 

Imbibe Thy rays, 

And take the moulding of Thy grace. 



&eacfj us to numfor out Bags. 

There's nothing that we less can trust 

Than life and all it gives ; 
Nothing more sure than that to dust 

Returns whatever lives. 
By every step in life's brief race, 

From life itself we part ; 
Joy dies within the heart apace, 

A nd with it dies the heart. 

i Cor. xv. 32. " If after the manner of men 1 ! have fought 
with beasts at Ephesus, what advantageth it me, if the 
dead rise not ? let us eat and drink ; for to-morrow we 
die." 2 

Heb. ix. 27. " It is appointed unto men once to die, but 
after this the judgment." 

Psalm xc. 12. " So teach us to number our days, that we 
may apply our hearts unto wisdom." 

MAY it not be said of the vast majority of mankind that 
they live as if they imagined they were never to die ? 
And yet it is not so. The fact seems rather to be that, aware 

1 I.e., without regard to the retribution of eternity. 

2 This saying of a Greek poet shows the view taken of life by many of the 
heathen who did not believe in the world to come. 

B 



1 8 4. Teach us to number our Days. 

how short is the span that separates them from the confine at 
which they must surrender and bid adieu to all this earth 
has given them, they would fain enjoy life while it lasts. 
"Death makes pale the face," is indeed a weighty truth ; but 
it fares no better than all other such weighty truths when 
committed to the power of man. If, in the hand of one, it 
becomes a staff on which he safely leans, in that of another it 
is transformed into a serpent. Does death indeed, he says, 
make pale the face ? " Well, then, come on, let us enjoy 
the good things that are present ; and let us diligently use the 
creatures like as in youth. . . . Let us crown ourselves 
with rosebuds ere they be withered." a 

But what is this pale death, for on that all depends ? Is it 
the black wall at which the pilgrim halts, and — goes down? 
Is it the sleep which no dreams disturb ? Or is it the dark 
partition between us and the holy land? Is it the swift 
moment, the little bridge, on which the brief sleep of time 
encounters the long awakening of eternity? That black is 
the wall at which the days of our life terminate is denied by 
none. Well for him who can discern in it the little door 
through which the light of the day of judgment throws its 
purple rays ! 

Judging by what meets the eye, we might suppose that 
although the leaves of that door stand always open, the vast 
majority of mankind had never observed it. Like Belshazzar, 
they appear to sit at the banquet of life without one thought 
of the dark and silent hand which is all the while inscribing 
upon the wall, " Thou art weighed in the balance and found 
wanting." I am persuaded, however, that this is mere ap- 
pearance. I am confident that there is not a human being 
whose heart has not, some time or other, felt a presentiment 
of the terrors of judgment. No one believes that all is over 
at death, or at least believes it firmly and at all times. And 
will not what is to ensue thereafter merely resume the thread 
which was broken here ; and if so, will there be no accusers to 
1 Wisdom of Solomon, ii. 6-8. 



4. Teach us to number our Days. 1 9 

testify of hours misspent, of privileges abused, of places pro- 
faned, of debts unpaid, and hidden secrets of iniquity? 

If there be no presentiment of a day of judgment even 
in the heart of the thoughtless, whence comes their dread of 
being left alone ? This feeling admits of no explanation but 
the fact that even here on earth there are accusers which, in 
solitary hours, present to man his unpaid accounts. Or 
whence, if not from such a presentiment, come the resolutions 
which so many form, and repeat, and again repeat, to amend 
their lives and seek out new paths for their feet ? Oh that the 
ability were only as strong as the wish ! but 

At thirty man suspects himself a fool ; 
Knows it at forty, and reforms his plan ; 
At fifty chides his impotent delay, 
Pushes his prudent purpose to resolve — 
In all the magnanimity of thought, 
Resolves and re-resolves, and dies the same. 

It is true that serious thoughts like that of the day of judg- 
ment do not float upon the surface, and this may be the 
reason why many a one appears far less concerned than he 
really is. Let some man of God, however, push the probe 
deep into the thoughtless heart, and it is soon seen that he 
touches the quick. No one probably perceived from the 
countenance of Felix, the Roman governor, that any dread of 
eternity lingered in his greedy and voluptuous bosom. But if 
that had not been the case, why do we read that, " as Paul 
reasoned of righteousness, temperance, and judgment to come, 
Felix trembled, and answered, Go thy way for this time " ? 1 

Yes ; without a doubt, in the deep despondency which 
creeps over us all at the thought of separation from the good 
things of this life, there is always some touch of the terrors of 
eternity. 

Begin the song of death to sing, 

That solemn parting strain ; 
Perhaps this very day may bring 

An end to all thy pain. 



1 Acts, xxiv. 25. 



20 4* Teach us to number our Days. 

Yes ; without a doubt, the awe which these words inspire 
springs not merely from solicitude about what we leave behind, 
but likewise from anxiety about what awaits us before. No 
one can be happy in this prese?it life unless he be assured of salva- 
tion in the life to come. In former days, when as yet I knew 
not in what I believed, it used deeply to affect and humble me, 
while composing long dissertations upon such questions as, 
Whether the soul is immortal, and what immortality is, — to hear 
believing Christians speaking upon the subject as confidently 
as if they had just come from the heavenly land. This was 
nothing but the fulfilment of the promise, " He that believeth 
on the Son hath everlasting life," and " tasteth the powers of 
the world to come." 1 

As for the man who has never yet made his peace with God, 
how can he possibly be happy in this life, seeing that every 
moment is conducting him farther and farther away from the 
place which contains all that gives pleasure to his heart ? 
Every tick of the clock, every particle of sand that drops in 
the hour-glass, proclaims that a fragment of his life, and, with 
it, of his fortitude and joy, is gone. Dost thou hear the low 
but mournful lay which the softly-falling grains never cease 
to sing? — 

Behold, O man ! and thee bethink 
How these, our little sands, that sink, 
Life's ebb proclaim. 

As one by one we steal away, 
So silently does fell decay 
Prey on thy frame. 

What though our course be still and slow ? 
No pause by day or night we know, 
But ever drop. 

And come there will an hour when all 
Are gone, and as the last shall fall 
Thy pulse shall stop. 



John, iii. 36 ; Heb. vi. 5. 



5. We are all alike Sinners. 21 

O my soul ! is it indeed the case that no man can be happy 
in this life without the assurance of salvation in the life to 
come ? Be it then thy endeavonr so to live as at the hour of 
death thou wilt wish to have lived. While time lasts, lay hold 
on eternity. Above all, lay hold on Him who has said, 
" Whosoever believeth on me hath everlasting life." 



5. 

OTe are all alike Smturss. 

O God, in man the long- lost power renew 
Things of the Spirit to discern and do. 

Rom. iii. 22, 23. "For there is no difference: for all have 
sinned, and come short of the glory of God." 

I HAVE never yet met the man who disputed the fact of 
his being a sinner ; but I have met with many who ad- 
mitted it, and yet lived on in the world as gaily as if it e?itailed 
no further consequences. When I proceed to inquire how this 
can possibly be, it always strikes me, as the chief reason, that 
men do not give themselves leisure — to reflect. All around me 
appear to labour under an indescribable distraction of mind. 
I cannot otherwise account for the decided manner in which 
they admit many propositions, and yet do not draw from them 
the conclusiofis that are obviously manifest. Since the hour in 
which I first clearly apprehended the one truth that I am a sin- 
ner — against God, I likewise perceived, as clearly, that there is 
no business in life so important as to recover His favour, and 
become His obedient child. Before that discovery, it always 
seemed to me as if my life had no proper aim. It was then 
that, for the first time, I became aware for what purpose I was 
living. No doubt I had a certain object, even before, but it 



22 5- We are all alike Sinners. 

was one of which I felt ashamed, and therefore did not ac- 
knowledge even to myself. It was, in truth, to enjoy the 
things of this world, and to be honoured in the eyes of men. 
And to thousands at my side, although they too are ashamed 
to confess it, this is the sole wreath for which they strive. If, 
however, they would take time to reflect, the mere perceptions 
of the understanding would show them the folly of their con- 
duct. For, supposing our joys and hopes to have their centre 
in this world, what a painful thought that we are every day 
withdrawing further away from it ! whereas, if eternity be our 
end and aim, how pleasing to think that to it we are every day 
advancing nearer ! When glory before men is what we seek, 
we must needs meet with perpetual disappointment. For will 
the envy of our brethren ever permit us to enjoy such glory un- 
extenuated, or will our vanity ever be satisfied with the meas- 
ure of it which they allot ? But men do not consider. And 
so we see them planting, and building, and toiling, and enjoy- 
ing themselves. Day after day comes and goes, and the one 
greatest and most urgent business of life remains undone. The 
chasm which separates man from his God is not filled up. 

We come short of the glory of God, says the Bible ; and what 
is that glory ? It is the glory of walking before Him as His 
children. In his blindness, man, indeed, claims for himself the 
privileges, but he violates the duties, of a confiding and always 
submissive and obedient child. No doubt we hear one and 
another acknowledging that they are destitute of this glory, but 
they acknowledge it without shame, and this is just another in- 
stance of the fatal effects of not taking sufficient time to con- 
sider. For can anything be more natural than that the child 
who is constrained to confess a want of affection and obedience 
to his father, should at least feel ashamed when he makes the 
confession? Even to do that, however, is a great step. I 
have always found that a sinner is in a hopeful way who has 
learned to blush. 

The sinner's shame and grace of God 
Soon enter into brotherhood. 



5. We are all alike Sinners. 23 

There is no difference, says the apostle. No doubt, what he 
means, in the first instance, is between Jews and Gentiles. It 
may likewise, however, be said of all that are born of woman, 
that there is no difference. However manifold may be the 
shapes which sin assumes among men, the attentive spectator 
who contemplates it, whether as existing among the savage 
children of nature or in polite society, among the old or the 
young, the learned or the unlearned, will find that it is always 
the same actor reappearing in different parts. I have made 
extensive observations upon mankind — I have mixed with all 
classes of society, and lived with the people of various coun- 
tries — but never yet have I found a man who had not his weak 
side. I was continually reminded of the saying of one of our 
philosophers, that for every human being there is a price for which 
he may be bought. No doubt I have met with many a noble 
character, who, at the slightest motion of his weak side, in- 
stantly took arms against himself. The weak side, however, 
was still there. It is an observation which, in my opinion, 
needs no very large experience to make, and which, I cannot 
doubt, any one who duly reflects, and deeply and earnestly 
searches the recesses of his own heart, must also admit, that 
man — that is, every human being — carries within him the seed 
of every sin ; and this, I think, is the sense in which the apostle 
has said, " There is no differenced 

One thing especially, it appears to me, even the most stub- 
born must acknowledge — viz., that there is one moral infirmity 
common to the whole race. We are all extravagantly enam- 
oured of ourselves. As Luther says, " There is no hole too little 
for self-love to creep through." This is a weak side which no 
one who exercises any measure of self-reflection can disown. 
Take but a single instance. With what difficulty and reluc- 
tance we submit to have our frailties laid open ! How we in- 
stantly endeavour to ward off every attempt of this sort, even 
when made by persons whom we love ! Except those whom 
the Spirit of God had rendered humble and meek, I never met 
with any who could readily and cheerfully bear to be told their 



24 5- We are all alike Sinners. 

faults. What more decisive sign can there be that we all la- 
bour under a sore distemper ? 

I have often cast in my mind what ought to be looked upon 
as the peculiar mark by which a Christian may be distinguished 
from a child of the world ; and I am persuaded that, far more 
than in anything else, it is to be found in the difference of 
the impression made upon him by the words sin and guilt. 
For myself, there was a time when I acknowledged that in some, 
yea, in many things, I came short in the sight of God, and yet 
I remained quite indifferent about the matter. I could also 
think with the utmost coolness and unconcern of the hour on 
which I shall have to appear before Him. I am acquainted 
with not a few who take no pains about their sanctification, and 
of whom I yet can conceive that, when they pass into the other 
world, they will approach the Judge of all as bodily and confi- 
dently as if they already held in their hands an order for the 
rewards of virtue : whereas believing Christians have received 
the privilege of childship, and yet how bashful and timid they 
remain ! 

Close to Thy throne I seek not, Lord, a place, 
Not even my wish aspires to venture there — 

Grant me but from afar to see Thy face, 
And at Thy threshold breathe my humble prayer ; 

And for so great and undeserved a grace, 

To one so vile as me, Thy name I'll praise. 

Assuredly that is the sentiment common to the redeemed. It 
.is also mine ; for I am conscious how wholly I am destitute of 
the glory which I ought to have in the sight of God. 

My Lord and King, it is true that with Thee no boasting 
avails. There is, however, a praise and a glory which it be- 
hoves us to present to Thee. It is the glory of being Thy 
obedient children ; for when Thou mad'st us after Thine own 
image, that is what Thou mad'st us to be. Of this glory I 
confess that I am destitute. But look upon me in mercy, for 
I am heartily ashamed of my nakedness, and desire to be 
clothed with the righteousness of Thy Son. Oh, look upon 
me in mercy for His dear sake ! 



6. I was shapen in Iniquity. 25 

6. 

I tarn sjapm in JEniquttg. 

Why dost thou still upon the branches gaze ? 
Believe me, child, 'twere not so bad a case. 
If all the mischief centred in the shoot, 
And did not issue from the root. 

Psalm li. A Psalm of David, when Nathan the prophet 
came unto him, after he had gone in to Bathsheba. — 
Verses 1-3. " Have mercy upon me, O God, according to 
Thy loving-kindness : according unto the multitude of 
Thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions. Wash 
me throughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from 
my sin. For I acknowledge my transgressions : and my 
sin is ever before me." 

HOLY God, before the light of Thy grace had shone upon 
me, how foreign to me and far away was any earnest 
• desire to have my transgressions blotted out ! But now, when 
conscious of the very slightest aberration from Thy precepts, 
how uneasily my heart beats ! I can find no rest, nor even 
think of amendment, until I have entered my closet and ac- 
knowledged to Thee my transgression. Yes ; vain is the 
attempt at amendment in the future, until amends have been 
made for what lies behind us in the past. Oh, this sensitive- 
ness of conscience ! which sees its sin continually before it, 
until it has been forgiven. Is not this the surest evidence that 
the Spirit of the Lord is at work upon the soul ? No doubt 
they denounce it as extravagance when even a little fault gives 
a man so deep distress. But what says the apostle James ? 
" Whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one 
point, he is guilty of all." 1 Is not the law with its precepts a 
body with its members, and each of them animated by the 

1 James, ii. i o. 



26 6. / was shapen in Iniquity. 

same soul — viz., the Spirit of God ? Yes ; the divine com- 
mandments are all, as it were, suspended upon a golden thread, 
which thread is the love of God, and against the love of God 
does he offend who breaks the least of these commandments. 
Or, as Luther so beautifully says, "The first among the ten com- 
mandments contains the germ of all the rest." And does not 
the distinction drawn between great and little sins too often 
rest upon mere appearance ? Tell me, ye who pass so merci- 
less a judgment upon some one great transgression in a human 
life, have you had so little experience of the power which op 
portunity and an unguarded moment exercise over man ? On 
the other hand, who does not know that there are impious 
thoughts in the secresy of the closet, subtle sins of pride which 
can raise a greater barrier between God and man than the 
worst sins of the flesh ? Was not Luther right when he said 
that " the black devil is often less dangerous than the white 
one " ? In fleshly lust there is always more of sensuous pas- 
sion and less of deliberate consciousness than in spiritual iniqui- 
ties. I have more than once observed that truly pure and 
holy souls who would have trembled at even the faintest breath 
upon the mirror of their own hearts, were easily reconciled to 
the pardon of a David and a Magdalene. The murmurs came 
from the gross slaves of vice. Oh, little do such persons 
understand the mystery of penitential tears ! And no less is 
the compass and the depth of the domain of subtle sins hidden 
from their view. I am persuaded that no one who has actually 
made this observation, will hesitate for a moment to take his 
seat on the same penitential bench with David the fallen king, 
the malefactor, and the Magdalene. 

Verse 4. " Against Thee, Thee only, have I sinned, and 
done this evil in Thy sight : that Thou mightest be justi- 
fied when Thou speakest, and be clear when Thou 
judgest." 

Against Thee, Thee only, have I sinned, is a weighty word, 
and may be called the true mystery of repentance. In the 



6. / was shapen in Iniquity. 27 

case of the benefits which we receive from men, we so often 
look no further than the persons from whom we receive them, 
in place of carrying forward our thoughts to the supreme bene- 
factor whose ministers men are. We act in precisely the same 
way with our sins. All we think of is the harm which we 
thereby do to this person or to that, or to ourselves. But, as 
we have said, there runs a golden thread through all the com- 
mandments of God, and for that reason every trespass is an 
offence against His love. The little concern men show about 
their evil deeds, their unwillingness to take them to heart, must 
partly, at least, have its origin in their unconsciousness that by 
every sin they distress their greatest benefactor. Were they 
aware of this, their chief anxiety would be to obtain forgiveness 
from Him whom their trespasses most offend. Nor would 
they less acknowledge the righteousness of a holy God in His 
judgment upon sin, for they would then see in it more of its 
true sinfulness. 

Verse 5. "Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin 
did my mother conceive me." 

It is with me as with the Psalmist, the contemplation of each 
particular transgression always leads me back to the fact that 
not only are my actions sinful, but that /am myself "a sinner. 
Luther says that "good works do not make a man good." 
May not the like also be said of evil works ? He who attains 
to a true self-knowledge always feels that the real sting of every 
misdeed is, that it shows him to himself as one to whom holi- 
ness and truth are not supremely dear. When the law of God 
says, " Thou shalt not kill," it is not my hand that is directly 
addressed, but myself and my person. It is therefore his inward 
bias, inclining either towards God or towards that which is un- 
godly, according to which a man is accepted or rejected. Such 
a bias King David feels in his heart, and he does not seek to 
excuse it on the plea that it is innate. No; his self-condemna- 
tion derives all the greater strictness from the consciousness 



28 6. I was shapen in Iniquity. 

that at the stem, yea, the very root, of his spiritual life, sin has 
been gnawing. It is humanity that has fallen; and how should 
not every human being lament the fall ! 

Oh, how difficult it is for sinful man to come down from the 
leaves and fruits of his sin to the knowledge of its stem and 
root ! not that this knowledge lies afar off; but pride prevents 
us attaining to it. Justly does Luther say, that this is the most 
difficult lesson of the Psalm, yea, of the whole sacred Scrip- 
tures, and one without which the sacred Scriptures cannot 
possibly be understood. Such, also, is the persuasion of the 
Psalmist, for he says : — 

Verse 6. " Behold, Thou desirest truth in the inward parts : 
and in the hidden part Thou shalt make me to know 
wisdom." 

He acknowledges that it is the Spirit of God which has 
inwardly led him to the discovery of his sinfulness in all its 
depth. And he who has experienced how long the proud heart 
revolts against such a recognition will readily confess that — 

Unaided by Thy beams, eternal Light, 
To know myself was far above my might. 

All amendment, however, must begin with self-acquaintance; 
and however bitter of itself this hidden truth may be, it is 
nevertheless grateful to one who cannot bear hypocrisy and 
falsehood. Painful, also, as to any of us may be an insight 
into the depth of our corruption, it yet has also a pleasant side. 
It is always a sign that God is dealing with us, and that the 
Spirit which reproves the world of sin has taken up His abode 
in our hearts. 

Verses 7-10. " Purge me with hyssop, 1 and I shall be clean : 
wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. Make me to 
hear joy and gladness ; that the bones which Thou hast 

1 Levit. xiv. 6. 



6. / was shapen in Iniquity. 29 

broken may rejoice. Hide Thy face from my sins, and 
blot out all mine iniquities. Create in me a clean heart, 
O God ; and renew a right spirit within me." 

If it be difficult to attain to a truthful insight into our corrup- 
tion, far more difficult is it, after this insight has been attained, 
to summon up courage enough to enter the presence of God, 
and ask Him to forgive us our sins. The second is doubtless 
the hardest part of the task. St Bernard says, " The devil 
does man a double injury; before the act of sin he robs him of 
shame, and when the moment for believing comes, he unseason- 
ably gives it back." And another father of the Church exclaims 
— " Oh, how bad a servant is shame in a beggar's house /" Is 
not this the thing which they who have no experience of it find 
to be so incomprehensible — viz., that Christians on the one 
hand think their sin and guilt so great, and at the same time, 
on the other, have such high thoughts of grace ? But suppos- 
ing the case that a man after being so deeply humbled really 
attains to the unflinching belief that he has obtained mercy, oh 
then, sooner might the earth remain parched beneath the 
thunder-shower, than that such a man should not bring forth 
meet fruits of gratitude and love. No : the apostle speaks of 
faith purifying the heart; 1 and even so, in fact, does forgive- 
ness of sin make the sinner's heart pure. The right spirit is 
renewed within him, so that he advances steadily in the path of 
holiness. When St Paul says that " all things must work to- 
gether for good to them that love God," the word all may be 
held to include even sin. For does not every new absolution 
received after the new transgression cut as it were a deeper 
furrow in the heart, and secure a more favourable bed for the 
seed of the divine Word? Therefore thus do I also pray — 

Dead are our hearts, those hearts that Thine distress, 

Beloved Lord, with sorrows numberless ; 

And sva.ee/orgiveness only can revive 

The heart that's dead, do Thou my sins forgive. 



1 Acts, xv. 9. 



30 J. I ft many Things we offend. 

Cause but one drop of Thy sweet grace to flow, 
And oh, what beauteous flowers responsive grow ! 
Vouchsafe this boon, for, Lord, I deeply feel, 
No balm but grace for grace my heart can heal. 



7. 

IErt mang &{jmg0 foe affentf. 

A foul disease infects humanity, 
From which One only of the race was free. 

John, viii. 46, 29 ; v. 30. " Which of you convinceth me 
of sin?" " And He that sent me is with me : the Father 
hath not left me alone; for I do always those things that 
please Him." " I can of mine own self do nothing : as 
I hear, I judge : and my judgment is just ; because I 
seek not mine own will, but the will of the Father which 
hath sent me." 

THERE can be no stronger testimony to the fact that 
human nature is deeply fallen, than to find, as we do, 
that in the several thousand years during which the world has 
been standing, and among the eight hundred millions of men 
who every thirty years die and are replaced by new births, 
there has been but one who could say with truth, " Which of 
you convinceth me of sin?" " I do always those things that 
please the Father." Men are very vain ; they are so fond of 
saying about themselves more than what is true, and yet not 
one of them has ventured to say that. How plainly, then, 
must our very eyesight teach us the contrary! And how de- 
cidedly does our Lord, by this one saying, step out from the 
ranks of His brethren ! When one of us begins to amend his 
ways, the mark by which this is always known is the readiness 



7. In many Things we offend. 3 1 

with which he confesses how bad is his case. The holy- 
apostles themselves do not conceal that they still continued 
sinners. St Paul writes, " Not as though I had already at- 
tained, either were already perfect ; but I follow after." 1 A 
John declares, " If we say that we have no sin, we deceive 
ourselves, and the truth is not in us." 2 And a James con- 
fesses, " In many things we offend all." 3 Nor did the blessed 
apostles spare each other, for a Paul rebukes a Peter " before 
them all." 4 How completely does the Saviour here step out 
from the ranks of all the other children of men ! 

For myself, it is only since His divine image rose before my 
soul that I have properly learned what is the true state of man. 
Previously, I always measured myself with the little, and so ap- 
peared in my own eyes to be great. Now I measure myself 
with Him, and have become very little indeed. When we hear 
a man who thoroughly impresses us with his modesty and 
truth relate in plain and simple terms some great thing which 
he has done, we always feel as if we ourselves were thereby 
humbled ; and when the Saviour utters such words as, "I 
always do the will of my heavenly Father," or, " It is my 
meat to do the will of Him that sent me," — and when I think 
that they are uttered by Him with perfect truth — I then, for the 
first time, can conceive what a creature made in the image of 
God ought to be in his Maker's sight, and the relationship in 
which he ought to stand towards Him. Never before had I 
figured to myself the appearance of such a human being. And 
then to think of one so majestically great and spotlessly pure 
as Jesus, with humility so sincere, inviting sinners to come to 
Him. Oh, it is this which so powerfully attracts us to His 
heart — brings us, we know not how, under His yoke — makes 
us continually recall Him to our thoughts, and take Him as 
the mirror in which we survey ourselves, and learn thereby to 
be more and more ashamed. Wondrous is the change we then 
undergo. We become more and more pure, and yet seem to 

1 Philip, iii. 12. 2 1 John, i. 8. 

3 James, iii. 2. 4 Gal. ii. 14. 



32 7- I n many Things we offend. 

ourselves more and more sinful. On the lighter ground the 
spots are better seen. The clearer the atmosphere, the more 
distinctly we perceive the outline of all objects. In this way 
I can well figure to myself how holy John, although he had 
been so long trained in the Master's school, can yet in extreme 
old age utter the harsh words, " If we say that we have fellow- 
ship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not the 
truth;" and was yet, on the other hand, constrained to con- 
fess, "If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and 
the truth is not in us." 

Confession of sin and repentance are generally very painful. 
When, however, they proceed from the contemplation of one's 
self in the mirror of the Lord's virtues, it seems as if all the 
harshness of repentance were taken away, so that it ought no 
longer to be called by that name, being rather a progressive 
and ever-growing sense of shame. When reproved by the law, 
we are thrown back upon ourselves, and become really har- 
dened ; but when the Lord upbraids us for our faults by His 
holy example, the effect is rather to mollify and open our 
hearts, and incline us to surrender ourselves to Him. It is 
quite like a mirror that reflects its brightness, so as to brighten 
us when we look into it, and thus we are changed into His 
image from glory to glory. 1 It is as if He every day probed 
more and more deeply into our heart with the question, 
" Lovest thou me?" till not a single stain remains. 

Preachers deal so much in reproof, and teachers in exhorta- 
tion to the young, I am persuaded that if they would only 
present to us a true portrait of Jesus in His majesty and meek- 
ness, His severity and love — if they would but show Him in 
the depth of His condescension, poverty, and self-abasement 
— it would be the severest lecture which they could address to 
men, and would make a far deeper impression than any dis- 
course or exhortation of another kind. The difference is like 
that in the fable, where the sun and the tempest strove which 
of them would soonest snatch away his mantle from the tra- 

1 2 Cor. iii. 18. 



y. In many Things we offend. 33 

veller. In the storm, he only clutched it convulsively, and 
wrapped himself more firmly in it than before; but under the 
gentle rays of the sun, he allowed it to drop. Upon myself, 
no discourse upon repentance makes so deep an impression as 
when Christ is set forth before my eyes. When I see how in 
all things He seeks not His own glory, but that of His heavenly 
Father, 1 I am ashamed of my ambition. When I see how He 
came not to be ministered unto but to minister, it makes me 
ashamed of my pride. When I see how He took and drank 
the cup which His Father gave to Him, it makes me ashamed 
of my disobedience. When I see how He endured the con- 
tradiction of sinners, and when reviled, reviled not again, 2 it 
makes me ashamed of my impatience and anger. In short, I 
know of no more powerful discourse upon repentance, at least 
of none that more melts and humbles me, than the example of 
my Saviour. Luther speaks to the same effect in words of 
singular beauty. " Put ye on the Lord, says the apostle ; and 
it is a stirring word. For a sorry knave must he be who sees 
his master fasting and suffering hunger, toiling, watching, and 
enduring fatigue, while he himself is guzzling and drinking, 
sleeping, lounging, and living in pleasure. What master could 
tolerate such behaviour in a servant, or what servant could 
venture so to behave? The thing is impossible. It must put 
a man to the blush when he looks to Christ and finds so great 
a contrast in himself. He who is not warmed, admonished, 
and stimulated by Christ's example, will certainly never be 
quickened or excited by anything else. Words will do nothing : 
compared with that, they are but as the rustling of the leaves 
to peals of thunder." 

It is thus, then, that I pray to Him who is the perfect pat- 
tern of all holiness — 

O holy Jesus, fountain of purity ! 

What is the rock's clearest crystal to Thee? 



John, viii. 49, 50. 2 1 Peter, ii. 23. 



34 8. He that judgeth me is the Lord. 



Blessedness dwells in Thy spotless light ; 

The Cherubim's brightness, 

The Seraphim's whiteness, 
Fade before Thine to the blackness of night. 

My model fair Thou art, 

Mould after Thine my heart, 
Jesus, my all. 

Lord, to Thine arms I flee, 

O make me holy and pure like Thee. 

"O gentle Jesus, how did Thy pliant will 
Bend to the Father's, submissive still ! 
Even to the death Thou didst obey. 

In that same way incline 

My heart and will to Thine. 
Yes, Lord, my self-will take and slay. 

Would I were meek and mild, 

Ever Thy willing child, 
Jesus, my all. 

Lo, to Thine arms I flee, 

Make me obedient, Lord, like Thee. 



8. 

§Lz tfjat jttfrptfj me is tjje ILfltiL 

A guiltless co?iscience is the best 
Of cushions where the head may rest, 
No doubt ; but when the panel's called 
To utter sejitence o?i his fault, 
The trial f fids a swift conclusion, 
And strong the cha?ice of absolution. 

i Cor. iv. 3, 4. " With me it is a very small thing that I 
should be judged of you, or of man's judgment : yea, I 
judge not mine own self. For I know nothing by myself; 
yet am I not hereby justified : but He that judgeth me is 
the Lord." 

HOW strange that a man should be his own judge ! How 
marvellous a thing is conscience ! There is no one who 
does not shrink from inflicting pain upon himself, and yet we 



8. He thatjudgeth me is the Lord. 35 

not only judge, but we condemn ourselves. Ought this, how- 
ever, to go so greatly against the grain, inasmuch as it is really 
done, not by our own selves, but by another within us ? It is 
impossible that the voice of conscience in man can be his own. 
Conscience behaves to him as a master does to an unprofitable 
servant — speaks to him imperatively, and often appears before 
him as an offended king in his wrath. Many there are who 
would like to part with it altogether, and think that without 
a conscience they could lead a much more pleasant life. What 
is the use of it, they say, except to fill the mind with all kinds 
of uneasy thoughts and scruples ? In this case, however, it is 
vain to attempt to run away. Conscience cleaves to us like 
the officer to the convicted criminal, and says, I had to bear 
with thee, now it is thy turn to bear with me. It is louder 
than any thunder ; and, again, its whisper is gentle and secret, 
like the murmur of a brook beneath the foliage. It is the 
secret thing of which Job tells us that it was as an image be- 
fore his eyes, and passed before his face and made all his 
bones to shake. " Now a thing was secretly brought to me, 
and mine ear received a little thereof. In thoughts from the 
visions of the night, when deep sleep falleth on men, fear 
came upon me, and trembling, which made all my bones to 
shake. Then a spirit passed before my face; the hair of my 
flesh stood up. It stood still, but I could not discern the 
form thereof: an image was before mine eyes; there was 
silence, and I heard a voice saying, Shall mortal man be more 
just than God? Shall a man be more pure than his Maker V n 

Like care and death, this secret thing has wings, and wan- 
ders through all the earth. Never was heart of man so tough 
and close as not to have some chink or hole through which it 
could enter in. This is true even of the heathen. I am one 
who cannot frown when I see the little dogs eating of the 
crumbs that fall from their master's table. And it delights my 
very heart to find that the Word which " lighteth every man 
who cometh into the world," 2 has also kindled some few 

1 Job, iv. 12-17. 2 J°h n j i- 9- 



36 8. He that jtidgeth me is the Lord. 

sparks in the hearts of the heathen. For I reflect on what the 
Lord says, "Is thine eye evil, because I am good?" and on 
the question of Paul, " Is God not also the God of the Gen- 
tiles? Yes, of the Gentiles also/' 1 Some altars are built of 
rough and unhewn, and others of polished, stone. Some bear 
the inscription, To the unknown God; others to the known. 
My devotion warms, and good thoughts crowd into my mind, 
when I read the beautiful testimony which one of the sages 
of ancient heathenism 2 bears to the conscience. He says : 
" This is the law which no one can resist, of which no par- 
ticular clause can be cancelled, and which, as a whole, can 
never be disannulled. From it no magistracy upon earth, no 
national decree, can give exemption. It needs no interpreter, 
and is not one thing at Rome and another at Athens, one 
thing now and something else hereafter. It is ever one and 
the same, eternal and unalterable, embracing all nations and 
ages. And He who is the great Lord and Sovereign of the 
universe is its maker and interpreter. Whosoever disobeys it 
flies from himself and subverts his human nature, thereby un- 
dergoing the severest of all penalties, although he may escape 
whatever else is reckoned penal." I have the same feelings 
when one of their old poets 3 speaks of the " laws which de- 
scend from on high — which took not their birth from man's 
mortal nature — which oblivion will never cover, and in which 
reigns a great God who never grows old." 4 

When I read such testimonies from the mouth of those 
whom we call the blinded heathen, I cannot but think that 
Paul's words will one day be fulfilled, and that the circum- 
cision which has hid its bright and beautiful light beneath a 
bushel, shall be judged by the uncircumcision which has made 
its little spark to shine forth in so edifying a manner in the 
eyes of all the world. 

I listen with holy awe to witnesses so grave and reverend ; 
for, from the forcible testimony which they bear to the power 

1 Rom. iii. 29. 2 Cicero. 

3 Sophocles. 4 Rom. ii. 14, 15, 27. 



8. He that judgeth me is the Lord. 37 

of conscience in the human breast, what can be more evident 
than that it is the cloud above the ark of the covenant, out of 
which the Lord of hosts Himself addresses the children of 
men, and preaches to them of truth and righteousness ? 1 On 
the other hand, how great a contrast it seems, when a saint 
like Paul, though conscious of nothing blameworthy in his 
conduct, does not on that account reckon himself justified, 
and will trust only to the judgment of the Lord I To the same 
effect the apostle John writes, " If our heart condemn us, God 
is greater than our heart, and knoweth all things."' 1 Now, 
doubtless, it is a weighty doctrine that man should yield his 
entire confidence to no voice of God other than that which 
addresses him from His revealed Word. For who could 
rehearse all the dreadful extravagances of fanaticism, and the 
proud and foolish thoughts into which they who have trusted 
solely to their conscience have fallen? The truth is, that 
although the voice of conscience be nothing else than the 
voice of the Lord of hosts, still, in order to hear it aright, 
man requires previously to possess a spiritual ear, and that is 
a gift of divine grace through the Holy Spirit ; or it may also 
be said that conscience is the handwriting of the Lord, which 
it needs a spiritual eye to read. They have invented a kind 
of ink to write with, but the writing does not become visible 
until subjected to a certain degree of heat. It is the same 
with that law which God has inscribed on the tablet of the 
heart. So long as the flesh attempts, in its own strength, to 
read it, how laborious is the task ! We cannot discover the 
meaning and put into it pure falsehoods. The word becomes 
distinct and legible to the reader's eye only when, through the 
grace of God, the fire of the Holy Spirit is applied to his 
heart. But, ah me ! when that is done, how the letters of the 
writing, which was before invisible, begin to live and stir ! It 
becomes bright, and radiant to the sight, and can no longer be 
disputed away. Not without cause, therefore, does the apostle 
Paul, when wishing to lay special weight upon his words, 

1 Exod. xxviii. 30. 2 1 John, iii. 20. 



38 8. He thatjudgeth me is the Lord. 

distrust the testimony of his weak human conscience and 
prefer thus to write : " I say the truth in Christ, I lie not, my 
conscience also bearing me witness in the Holy Ghost." 1 

For how many thousand souls, especially in these times, 
has the Father of lies set a fatal net and snare, by darkening 
and hiding beneath a bushel the truth which is so highly 
necessary, and so pre-eminently important, for every Christian 
to know ; I mean, the truth that every conscience remains a 
blind leader of the blind, so long as it is unenlightened by the 
Holy Ghost, and has not taken for its rule the revealed Word 
of God ! It is notorious to all the world that the Father of lies 
is a great logician ; but he is also, it appears, a fine poet, for 
he has composed many a tinselled proverb, such as — 

Hearst thou God's inward call ? obey, nor fear, 
However high it points thy bold career. 

At last, however, it has turned out that the call came from the 
lying spirit of pride. And again — 

" In the heart's longing know the voice of fate." 

In the end, however, the heart only ran to where it was 
attracted by the lust of the flesh or by mammon. It is thus 
that Beelzebub has got for himself a court-dress, that he may 
make his appearance in good society. O foolish Christians ! 
if you will not listen to the wise Solomon when he tells you 
that " he that trusteth his own heart is a fool," 2 or to the 
Psalmist when he says that " all men are liars," 3 at least 
attend to what one of your own prophets has most wisely 
averred : — 

Not every voice, I find, is to be trusted, 
That whispers its monitions in the heart. 
The lying spirit, to deceive mankind, 
Oft feigns the accents of fair truth herself, 
And scatters his false oracles around. 

No doubt the old oracles cheated many a one, when as yet 

1 Rom. ix. t. 2 Prov. xxviii. 26. 3 Psalm cxvi. 11. 



8. He that judgeth me is the Lord. 39 

there was no Word of God in the world. The pity is that 
they should still keep men in leading-strings in these days 
when a merciful God has vouchsafed to us the Word of truth, 
that sure testimony which makes wise the simple. 1 Ye great 
saints who wear the mask so well, and present to yourselves 
so large a register of your virtues, would that God would give 
you grace to see what manner of spirit it is which scatters its 
oracles so plentifully in your bosom ; whether it be the Spirit 
of truth, of which it is written that it reproves the world of sin, 
or the spirit of lies ! For myself, when I give heed to what 
my conscience, enlightened by the Holy Ghost, says, all I can 
hear is that it rehearses the reckoning which God has written 
out for me in His Word, "Thou shalt have no other God 
before me." And then says : " Lo, O man, this is what thou 
art bound to do. Thou oughtest to fear, and love, and honour 
none but me. Thou oughtest always to put thy trust in me 
alone, and in every case rely on my goodness. Of all this, 
however, thou doest the contrary. Thou art at enmity with 
me. Thou lovest all other things more than me. Thou dost 
not believe in me with thy whole heart, but art every moment 
in doubt, and puttest thy confidence in other things." 

Lord Jesus, as my natural blindness is so great, I implore 
of Thee with my whole heart that by Thy holy Word Thou 
wouldst evermore kindle within me the fire of Thy Spirit, in 
order that I may more clearly recognise such parts of Thy law 
as nature has written in my heart. Keep me, gracious God, 
from the temptations and seductions of my own natural mind, 
and let Thy holy Word be the sole light of my feet. 

1 Psalm xix. 8. 



40 9- Blessed is he whose Sin is covered. 



HSlzmzb is it infjose &m is aifaretf. 

Whoever would his ways amend, 

Must first be good within, 
Therefore thine utmost efforts bend 

To cleanse thy heart from sin. 



deem st good works the proper plan 

To make thee all thou ought' st to be, 
And so the tailor makes his man ; 

But yet, my friend, I always see, 
Unless a man have other worth, that scarce 
A fool will stop to look what clothes he wears. 

Psalm xxxii. A Psalm of David. — Verse i. " Blessed is he 
whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered." 

LET other men rejoice in other things ; my joy — a joy 
which never fails — is this, that in the sight of God my 
sin is covered. So long as it remained uncovered, I could 
feel no confidence in presenting myself before Him. I was 
like one on whose person vice had imprinted its mark, and 
who is fain to hide his face from the public gaze. Even so, I 
felt ashamed to be seen of God. To him who knows how 
great a disfiguration sin is, nothing seems so sad as to hear 
men congratulating themselves on account of some mean and 
paltry advantage they may possess, while they are totally 
unconcerned about the fact that " their sin is not covered." 

Verses 2-4. " Blessed is the man unto whom the Lord 
imputeth not iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no 
guile. When I kept silence, my bones waxed old through 
my roaring all the day long. For day and night Thy 
hand was heavy upon me : my moisture is turned into the 
drought of summer." 



g. Blessed is he whose Sin is covered. 4 1 

How true what the Word of God here avers, that he only 
can obtain the forgiveness of his sin in whose spirit there is no 
guile I Never is God gracious towards us until we are sincere 
towards Him; and because, while here on earth, it is so hard 
for us to be sincere, the earth is full of saints and heaven full 
of sinners. Not until conscience had driven its sting deep 
into his flesh did King David summon up courage to be 
wholly guileless towards himself and towards his God. So 
long as our path is smooth we walk on asleep, and, like David, 
many a one needs a grievous fall to awake him and push the 
sting of conscience far enough in. No doubt, were we to 
judge from appearances, we might suppose that in these days 
of ours the sting had been broken off from the consciences of 
men, — all look so gay and smiling. I suspect, however, that 
it still wounds them ; but then, if I may so speak, there is a 
slow pain of conscience not perceived to be what it really is, but 
which, nevertheless, like other slow distempers, exhausts the 
strength far more than any pain the most acute, for — 

Not when it pierces through, but when it gnaws, 
Does suffering's tooth the keenest anguish cause. 

There is a state of mind in which a man thinks nothing 
right, longs incessantly for change, and, because he has 
quarrelled with himself, quarrels, or at least likes to quarrel, 
with all around him. And what is this but the slow pain of 
an evil conscience, only not understood to be what it truly is ? 
In my own experience I have known several persons who in 
this manner had long been a torment both to themselves and 
others, but who, after the morning star of the Gospel arose in 
their hearts, discovered that all which they had really lacked 
was the forgiveness of their sins. They now looked upon their 
whole previous life as a time in which they were labouring to 
conceal from themselves and others a disease that was preying 
upon their vitals. In such a state a man is ill at ease. Oh, 
how often smiling countenances are but a mask which conceals 
weeping hearts, and cheerful looks a mere article of dress put 



42 9- Blessed is he whose Sin is covered. 

on when men go into company, in order afterwards, when 
again alone, to hear, in addition to other reproaches, that of 
having belied themselves ! Yes, " blessed indeed is the man in 
whose spirit there is no guile, and to whom the Lord imputeth 
not Iris iniquity." Lord, I will not keep silence before Thee : 
oh, be not Thou silent to me ! 

Verse 5. "I acknowledged my sin unto Thee, and mine 
iniquity have I not hid. I said, I will confess my trans- 
gressions unto the Lord ; and Thou forgavest the iniquity 
of my sin." 

What a moment is that in which a man for the first time 
hears and fully believes the Saviour's words, " Thy sins are 
forgiven thee" ! Among all by whom it has been experienced, 
who has a tongue sufficiently eloquent to describe it to those 
to whom it is unknown ? It is an exaltation, it is an abase- 
ment, and, at the same time, in both a blessedness with which 
no other state can compare. Ye full and self-satisfied souls, 
would that you but knew the full import of the word grace — 
grace without desert ! 

Oh what a mighty word is grace ! 

How soothing to the stricken heart ! 
When dropt upon the wounded place, 

Like sovereign balm it heals the smart. 
When, past a long dark night of grief, 
And tears and groanings for relief, 
At last comes absolution — 
Oh what a boon ! 

And as we cannot say that we already are, but only that we 
are always becoming, Christians, even so it is with absolution 
such as this. It ought to serve as a horn of salvation, and 
every day afresh help to raise us up and set us on our feet. 
Oh that the Holy Spirit would but show me in its true colours 
the very slightest of my faults, that my soul might take no rest 
until I have obtained forgiveness ! Never has so mighty a 
flood of inward strength caught and borne me along on its 
wave as in those hours when, kneeling in the silence of my 



9. Blessed is he whose Sin is covered. 43 

closet, I felt the Saviour's hand upon my head ; and, as the 
best recompense of my tears, heard Him say — 

From all thy sins I thee absolve. 
Look on me, and believe and rise, my son ; 
Be of good cheer, gird up thy loins, and run. 

Yes ; though before I had only crept, in that hour I obtained 
strength to run. Grasping His hand — the beloved hand that 
blessed me — I vowed this vow in His presence — 

Yes, Saviour, both my hands I give 

To seal the promise I renew ; 
I'll love Thee only while I live, 

And only live to serve Thee too. 

Such is the issue of every fresh absolution ; and thus, in the 
school of grace, the inner man really grows stronger and 
stronger, and we learn the truth of the words : " They that 
wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall 
mount up with wings as eagles ; they shall run, and not be 
weary ; and they shall walk, and not faint." 1 

No repentance is really effectual save that which cheers ; for, 
to weak and feeble man, what can possibly be so invigorating 
as joy, especially a joy so tender, so inward, so soul-pervading 
as that which flows from the consciousness of unmerited grace ? 
If, then, at any time thy knees wax feeble, seek to imbibe 
strength from joy, and joy from grace. 

Verse 6. " For this shall every one that is godly pray unto 
Thee in a time when Thou mayest be found : surely in 
the floods of great waters they shall not come nigh unto 
him." 

From what source save the firm assurance that we have a 
gracious and reconciled God, can we derive right confidence 
in prayer ? And hence we find that only holy men who have 
been justified by grace possess a boldness which enables them 
to hold free and unconstrained communion with God, as the 

1 Isa. xl. 31. 



44 9- Blessed is he whose Sin is covered. 

child does with its mother. In such familiar intercourse they 
so wholly disburden their hearts of cares and doubts, that the 
water-floods of affliction, in which so many struggle and some 
even perish, do not come nigh unto them. A gracious God 
can confer only graces ; and therefore he who has found a 
gracious God thenceforth receives from Him nothing else but 
grace, through the medium of all created things, and in seasons 
of prosperity and adversity alike. As a mother gives the 
breast to her babe, so to such a soul does God, in all creatures 
and in all events of life, present a breast from which it can 
imbibe spiritual nourishment; and he who has advanced so 
far is for ever beyond the reach of the water-floods. 

O Lord, I will not conceal that I have not honoured Thee as 
I ought to have done. Alas ! never have I so honoured Thee 
all my life. As I did not acknowledge Thine absolute sover- 
eignty over me, so neither for that reason did I appreciate Thy 
grace. I underlie the curse of a disobedient and perpetually 
stubborn heart, that would fain always walk in its own ways. 
How ashamed I would be were other men to see my heart as 
Thou seest it ! and yet, O my God, I am not ashamed before 
Thee! I pass my life unable to elude the conviction that in 
almost all I purpose and perform, I study solely to serve my- 
self, and yet Thou art my Lord, and alone art able to do with 
me what Thou wilt, seeing that I am the work of Thy hand. 
If such be the tenor of my life, what wonder that my heart is 
never tranquil ? for who can be at rest who is at enmity with 
God ? So long as I keep silence, anathema is upon me. I 
will speak — yea, unto Thee will I speak, O my God, and pour 
out my whole heart before Thee ! If washed with mine own 
hands, I only soil myself anew. Do Thou wash me — yea, 
wash me every morning afresh ! 

Wash me each morn afresh in Thy bright flood, 

Fountain of Golgotha, for while I groan 
Beneath unpardoned sin's oppressive load, 

I feel my spirit sink, my vigour gone ; 
But oh, what life through all my being streams, 
When grace bedews afresh my wearied limbs ! 






io. Christ zvas set forth to be a Propitiation. 45 

There can be no amendment without grace, 

No rising up till God forgives the fall. 
The flood of mercy must old scores efface, 

And in oblivion's ocean whelm them all. 
What soldier e'er with heart the fight renewed, 
When foes behind were left still unsubdued ? 

And ask you why this goodly fountain lies 

Lonely and unfrequented by the crowd ? 
It is because whoe'er approaches, spies 

His image mirrored on the crystal flood. 
He cannot else be healed ; but with dismay 
That sight the crowd behold and haste away. 



IO. 

(CJjrist foras set tortfj to bt a Propitiation, 

Mine was the burden which my Saviour bore. 

Romans, iii. 24-26. " Being justified freely by His grace 
through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus : whom 
God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in 
His blood, to declare His righteousness for the remission 
of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God ; to 
declare at this time His righteousness : that He might be 
just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus." 

Psalm cxi. 4. " He hath made His wonderful works to be 
remembered: the Lord is gracious, and full of compassion." 

" /"^OME hither with your tongues and pens," exclaims 
\^y Luther, " all ye that have them • sing and play all ye 
that can, that so we may in some small degree comprehend 
the import of these words." Oh, how nobly and benignly 
they are spoken for poor and disconsolate sinners, and for con- 
sciences that are wounded and afraid ! Here we are told that, 
now since the Lord Jesus Christ has interposed, we can come 



46 10. Christ was set forth to be a Propitiation. 

boldly to our God as His children and heirs. A memorial 
has been erected which proclaims from eternity to eternity the 
wonders of His compassion. Oh for a voice to sing aloud 
until the very firmament shall ring — 

Peace, peace, an everlasting peace, 
Discord shall now for ever cease ! 

Alas ! how seldom in these poor days of ours do we hear 
such joyful exclamation bursting from the hearts of exulting 
Christians ! It is enough to make one weep to see so many 
precious gifts of God lying neglected and despised, and none 
caring to use them with thankfulness and praise. But what is 
that compared with the pang which wrings the heart when we 
think that God has torn from His bosom His darling, His only 
child and dearest life, and delivered Him up for sin • and yet 
that men despise even so divine a gift? In Israel, the mercy- 
seat was erected upon the lid of the ark of the covenant — that 
ark in which was contained the covenant law, so often broken 
by the many transgressions of the people ; and yet even there 
had their gracious and merciful God set up a memorial, and 
accepted the blood of the sin-offering when sprinkled upon it, 
covering in this manner with the shadow of His grace the vio- 
lated law and all its threatenings against transgressors. But 
oh, how much better is that which the Lord, gracious and full 
of compassion, has provided for us I 1 Theirs was but a 
"shadow of good things to come;" 2 ours is the living mercy-seat 
which He has now erected on Golgotha and Gethsemane, and 
from which there is a direct way to the sanctuary of His heart ! 
How is it possible for men to pass by this mercy-seat and 
for a moment entertain the thought that it is a mere useless 
ornament to the sanctuary? Yes, a mere ornament it may 
appear to them so long as they have yet to cross the threshold 
within which alone it can be rightly seen. The mercy-seat of 
the New Testament is indeed a mere ornament — a carved 
work of cedar — until a man has been brought to concede the right 
1 Heb. xi. 40. 2 Heb> x I# 



io. Christ was set forth to be a Propitiation. 47 

of God to condemn him ; in other words, so long as he draws 
near with any sort of advantage which he counts his own. 
None can possibly behold its glory unless they be naked and 
bare. There is a strait gate to be passed on the way to it, 
and outside of this lie heaps of counterfeit pearls, robes of false 
silk and embroidery of tinsel ; because they who enter must 
leave behind them all things they count their own, and so the 
more of these they have to take off, the longer they are in 
passing through. There is a true and pleasant story told of 
one of those who are wont to array themselves largely with the 
robes of self-righteousness. He had deeply lamented over a 
brother, who was a true child of God, but whom, as one who 
had abjured all personal merit, he regarded as a mean fellow, 
while fancying himself to be eminently holy and good. To 
this person divine grace vouchsafed a dream. It seemed to 
him, as he slept, that he looked through a narrow door and 
saw his brother, who had meanwhile departed this life in peace, 
seated at table with all the saints in a great and beautiful 
hall. Not a little surprised, he made haste to enter the door, 
in order if still possible to uproot the tare that had crept in 
among the wheat. But mark what happened. The strait 
door became ever straiter and straiter about him, and he was 
obliged to put off every article of dress, one after another, un- 
til nothing was left but a single silken napkin of great worth, 
which he had wrapped about his body. Oh then, what striv- 
ing and straining there was to take this precious article inside 
along with him ! But all his efforts were vain, until he left it 
behind ; and only when he had stripped himself perfectly bare 
could he force his way through. On awakening he made the 
dream a subject of serious reflection, and subsequently the 
grace of God changed his heart. O my fellow-men, ye who 
have never yet been able to see the mercy-seat in its glory, is 
it not because such silken napkins are too common among you ? 
Ah me ! how stoutly men resist before they can be brought 
to divest themselves of all that is their own ! I did so myself, 
O Lord ; I resisted when Thy law proclaimed that the " Lord 



48 io. Christ was set forth to be a Propitiation. 

is a holy and a jealous God. He will not forgive your trans- 
gressions nor your sins." 1 I would not submit to be condemned. 
In my heart, however, Thy Spirit has affixed His seal to the 
testimony of the letter of Thy law, so that I cannot contend 
with Thee, and must acknowledge the justice of Thy sentence. 
Behold, then, I confess that it is wholly just. For even wert 
Thou in Thy wrath to destroy me, I should be compelled to 
say, " Yea, surely God will not do wickedly, neither will the 
Almighty pervert judgment." 2 O Lord, like Job, I have ven- 
tured to dispute with Thee, and to say, " Oh that one would 
hear me ! Behold, my desire is, that the Almighty would 
answer me, and that mine adversary had written a book;" 3 
for while I seemed righteous in my own cause, Thy judgments 
were too heavy for me, I could not bear them. But Thou, 
"who with rebukes dost correct man for iniquity, and makest 
his beauty to consume away like a moth," 4 hast tried my reins 
in the night season, chastened my heart by Thy Spirit, and set 
my secret sin before mine eyes, so that I was constrained to 
confess with Job, " I abhor myself, and repent in dust and 
ashes." 5 Yes, Thou God of justice, / acknowledge myself to 
be guilty in Thy sight, and "that it is the foolishness of a man 
which perverteth his way, and his heart fretteth against the 
Lord." 6 

That Thou net just in all Thy ways, 
None of Thy servants, Lord, gainsays. 
Though by Thy terrible award 
Down to the burning gulf I'm thrust, 
My voice shall 'midst the flames be heard 
Proclaiming, " This my doom is just." 
Yet, Lord, to make Thy glory known, 
By acts severely just alone, 
Were little for a God like Thee. 
Thy matchless greatness to express, 
Transcendent King ! let mercy be 
The partner of Thy righteousness. 






And this hast Thou done — Thou hast fed the hungry, 

1 Josh. xxiv. 19. 2 J°b. xxxiv, 12. 3 Job, xxxi. 35. 

4 Psalm xxxix. 11. 5 Job, xlii. 6. 6 Prov. xix. 3. 



10. Christ was set forth to be a Propitiation. 49 

Thou hast given drink to them that were athirst, and clothed 
the naked. Yes ; when I appeared all naked in Thy sight, 
how rich and beautiful were the garments with which Thou 
didst clothe me ! O blessed Jesus, so close is the fellowship 
into which Thou hast entered -with man, that to Thyself, from 
us on whom they lay, Thou hast transferred all the penalties 
of transgression, and instead hast given to us Thyself with all 
Thy purity and holiness to be possessed as our own. Sin, 
death, and Satan, to harm me now is beyond your power. 
Henceforward you have to do with one who is stronger than I, 
for I am my Lord's. 

O wounded head ! with thorns so vilely crowned, 
Since Thou Thyself so close to man hast bound, 
That all of Thine to me no less pertains, 

No human tongue can well express, 

No human fancy rightly guess, 
The strength which from the head the member gains. 

I have part in the anguished sweat of Gethsemane, and in 
the sacred blood that was shed on Golgotha. I have part in 
the cry, " I thirst ; " and in the appeal, " My God, my God, 
why hast Thou forsaken me?" Mine is Thy descent into 
hell, and mine Thine ascension into heaven*; for have we not 
been made " members of His body, of His flesh, and of His 
bones"? 1 To the natural mind, no doubt, it seems to pass 
all bounds of belief that one who but a little ago was sunk so 
deep in hell, should at once be admitted into heaven, and 
take a seat at table with Him who is the eternal God and 
Sovereign of the universe. But faith is not the business of the 
flesh. It is the work of the Holy Ghost, by which " the love 
of God is shed abroad in our hearts." 2 "It seems," says 
Luther, " quite incredible to the conscience. Conscience takes 
upon it to condemn all my good works, and all my own 
righteousness in the sight of God : but I can say to it I have 
none of either ; for who can pluck hair from the palm of his 
hand, or pay money from an empty purse ? All that is good 

1 Eph. v. 30. 2 Rom. v. 5. 

D 



50 io. Christ was set forth to be a Propitiation. 

and holy about me belongs to my Master. If, again, con- 
science accuses me of sin, I reply, Neither have I any of that, 
for Christ has taken and carried it away. O conscience ! thine 
accusing office is gone, if so be that thou makest other charge 
or complaint against me save this alone, that I do not suffi- 
ciently embrace the Lord Jesus, who is now my righteousness 
and my life. They tell us of a poor fellow who one night 
caught a thief in his house, and mocked him, saying, What a 
fool thou must be to fancy that in a dark night thou couldst 
find anything where I myself can find nothing in the light of 
day ! Even so the believer who has no longer either sin or 
holiness of his own answers, when the accuser stands up 
against him : Here there is nothing to find but Christ alone." 

Beloved Master ! now that by Thy precious blood Thou 
hast become such a mercy-seat for me, I hear a voice which from 
dawn till eve resounds from it and says, This I did for thy sake, 
what doest thou for mine ? Oh, how strong is the bond of 
affection which such blood-besprinkled love winds around the 
lover and the loved ! How many millions have already loved 
Thee with a purity of affection which far excels that of child 
or woman, so that in a moment they would have gladly sacri- 
ficed their life for Thine ! As Thou hast thus given Thyself to 
me, and become mine, what other return can I make than to 
give myself to Thee, and become Thine? Yes, Jesus, me also 
Thou mayest now take and use as Thou wilt. 

He is mine, and His am I, 

Bound by an everlasting tie. 

For since He gave 

Himself to death 

My soul to save, 

For Him I'll live, for Him resign my breath. 

But couldst Thou possibly have knit Thy followers to Thee 
by a bond of love so strong if Thou hadst appeared among us, 
as some will have it, Thou didst appear, solely as a Teacher ? 
If in place of taking upon Thee our poor flesh and blood, with 
all the bitter pains of death to boot, Thou hadst come amongst 
us as a blessed Spirit, and again departed as such, without leav- 



1 1. The Lord's Love is everlasting. 5 1 

ing behind Thee to Thy friends anything but Thy words — 
Lord, forgive me for saying it, beautiful are Thy words, yea of 
surpassing beauty, but still more beautiful are Thy works ! — in 
that case, no doubt, we might have gazed after Thee into Thy 
heaven of glory ; but ah ! our hearts would have lingered here 
on earth. Oh, if even among us men it is only the love that 
makes a sacrifice that begets a true affection, surely none can 
doubt that only upon a blood-besprinkled path could we have 
found an entrance into Thy heart, and that only a crucified 
love could have riveted the hearts of men so closely to itself. 

What loathsome body's this that meets my gaze ? 
A foul disease on all the members preys ; 
None of them can or help or heal the rest, 
With its own ills opprest. 

It is humanity, and, dismal plight ! 
Without a head it lies, and shocks the sight : 
The anguished cry for succour never ceases, 
Yet still the plague increases. 

But lo ! a glorious Head from heaven descends, 
Whom neither sore nor putrid breath offends ; 
His heart on what was sick He sets, and it 
To His own self doth knit. 

Yes, — dearly has the Head the body loved, 
Sickness and death from every limb removed ; 
With vigour from His own the faint imbued, 
The dead with life renewed. 



11. 

W$z Horo'g 3Lofa is e&erlagtmg. 

In all that me befell since life began, 

I now can trace a thread which mercy span. 

Jer. xxxi. 3. " The Lord hath appeared of old unto me, 
saying, Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love : 
therefore with loving-kindness have I drawn thee." 



52 II. The Lord's Love is everlasting. 

WHEN we have come to understand the reason why we 
live, and distinctly perceive the end and aim of ex- 
istence here on earth, it is a pleasant task to trace back the 
path by which the divine goodness conducted us, and to ob- 
serve that it was all wisdom and all love. The great majority 
of the race never think of inquiring what is man's chief end ; 
and they who do, make the inquiry so difficult to themselves, 
pore over it so long, use all manner of optical instruments, 
which only confound plain common-sense ; and yet the truth 
lies within their reach, and is evident to view. If, then, there 
be few who succeed in finding it, although the Bible declares that 
" God layeth up sound wisdom for the sincere"^ the number of 
those who are sincere towards themselves must be small. And 
true it is that men do lie to themselves ; nor of the lies they 
tell is there any more manifest than when they affirm, as they 
are always doing, that the purpose for which they are here is 
to work for others. No one, however, can work for others 
except in so far as he has himself experienced a work of God. 
O ye hypocrites ! how can you really love others, seeing you 
have so little love for yourselves ? You do not love them. 
What you love is your own life, or, as the poet calls it, the 
pleasing habit of existing and acting. 

Full many a day and many a weary night, 

With busy zeal you toiled to chase away ; 
And mirthful stories heard and told which might 

Beguile the sense of lagging time's delay. 

And was this wrong ? you ask, and boldly show 

Your reckoning to the world's great Judge and Lord, 

Appealing to His justice to bestow 
On virtue so severe its due reward. 

Ye fools ! how will the hearts within you die, 
When from the mouth that never speaks in vain, 

The irrevocable sentence forth shall fly, 

Your due reward was given you, why complain ? 



English version righteous, Prov. ii. 7. 



1 1. The Lords Love is everlasting. 5 3 

Play was the good supreme your heart desired, 

And to the full you had it all your days ; 
But now, behold, the term for play expired, 

Eternity its awful scenes displays. 

Is it any wonder, then, that having nothing but working, 
and working for others, solely and continually before their 
eye, men should complain in their delusion " that God hedges 
up their way with thorns," 1 that He has tied their hands, that 
they are living in vain, being forced to stand idle in the mar- 
ket-place ? Why is it that in this particular instance they 
forget what in others they remember so well, that every man's 
nearest neighbour is himself '? In fact, the widest field for 
active exertion is that which is closest to us, and lies in our 
own bosoms. Even a whole lifetime spent upon a sick-bed 
gives the amplest scope for activity. Let a man have come to 
see that the grand object in life is to spend its brief span in 
becoming a tree in the garden of God, verdant with foliage, 
and loaded with all the noble graces called by St Paul " the 
fruit of the Spirit," which are " love, joy, peace, long-suffering, 
goodness, faith, meekness, and temperance," 2 — I repeat, he 
who has come to see this, will find in every situation of life a 
noble sphere for exertion. 

When by the help of grace, however, this 'discovery has 
been made, the man then learns also to see a plan and pur- 
pose in the whole course of his life, and at each new stage of 
it sees this more and more clearly. As we advance in years, 
it is as if we were ascending a terraced height from every 
higher elevation of which our view becomes more comprehen- 
sive, and all the objects it embraces seem more connected 
with each other. And oh what a prospect it will be at last, 
when, having reached the summit, we can overlook the whole ! 

" The Lord hath appeared of old unto me" O Lord, under how 
manifold and various disguises, and upon how many different 
paths, one after another, hast Thou gone forth to meet me in 
order that perchance mine eye might recognise and my heart 
might find Thee ! Many a time, like the disciples of Emmaus, 

1 Hos. ii. 6. 2 Gal. v. 22. 



54 II. The Lord's Love is everlasting. 

I felt my heart burning within me, and yet my eye was holden 
that I knew Thee not. Now, however, I know Thee under all 
disguises, now I see Thee upon every way. Yes, it is a bless- 
ing to have been bred within the precincts of the Christian 
Church — a blessing even in Our own days, when the walls of 
Zion are so sadly broken down. When I look back in thought, 
oh how many impressions of the Spirit of Christ I have, as it 
were, unconsciously and involuntarily received ! In fact I 
can say that His maternal bosom began to give me spiritual 
nourishment almost as soon as that of my mother to nourish 
me bodily. The prayers my parents taught me, the example of 
many pious men, all I learned of the history of the Church of 
Christ, the religious instruction I received, the many sermons 
I heard, and the manners of the Christians with whom I lived, 
— all these exercised their influences upon me ; and when at 
last, oh Love eternal, Thou didst actually take me to Thy heart, 
and I gazed upon Thee face to face, then were all these several 
beams of love condensed into one, and the light which fell upon 
the present illumined to me also the past and the future. 

Judging from my own experience, I am disposed to believe 
that in the life of every man there are, before conversion, 
many more traces of Christian grace than he himself knows or 
imagines. It is as with the light which exerts upon us a 
quickening influence, though we do not observe whence the 
quickening comes. It is as if we then saw the Saviour through 
a veil, and all that conversion does is to take the veil away. 
We may possibly have doubts about a truth which yet we 
cannot deny, and may, as the apostle expresses it, be appre- 
hended of Christ, without our apprehending Him. There is a 
precursory grace which penetrates and takes hold of a man 
without his being aware of it. And so it was, O my God, 
that when as yet I knew Thee not, Thou didst with " loving- 
kindness draw me to Thee" 

O Love eternal, who Thy depths can sound ? 
Ages before my mind on Thee could think, 
Ages before my heart in Thee could sink, 
Thy holy effluence compassed me around. 



■ 



II. The Lord 's Love is everlasting. 55 

Who can Thy depths explore, O Love divine ? 
As gently and mysteriously the light 
Falls on the suckling's eyes, unused to sight, 

So didst Thou enter this cold heart of mine. 

" Thou hast loved me with an everlasting love" for Thy love 
is older than my life. Thou didst love me before I existed, 
for it was because Thou didst love me that I now exist. Be- 
fore the world was created Thou didst call me by name, and 
Thou didst create the world with an eye to me, the poorest of 
Thy children, in order that, along with all the millions who at 
my side advance to the goal of consummation, I too might 
find a path to conduct me to the same. Oh what confidence, 
what fortitude, what magnanimity are inspired by the thought 
that I too was thought of in this world of God, and that for 
me, among the rest, it was prepared ! Brave and determined 
does the soldier enter the conflict when he knows for certain 
that the general whose eye surveys the field has reckoned 
upon him also being at his post. Even though he fall, he 
knows he is in his right place. Like him, I too know that 
He, whose eye of affection overlooks the universe, has as- 
signed to me my station, and traced out for me my path. 
Onwards I march through perpetual vicissitudes of brightness 
and gloom, and the issue is as yet hidden from my view. But 
the eye that knows no change, beholds it from eternity to 
eternity in a light that is ever the same. 

" Whom He did foreknow, He also did predestinate to be con- 
formed to the image of His Son; moreover, whom He did predes- 
tinate, them He also called ; and whom He called, them He also 
justified ; and whom He justified, them He also glorified. Who 
shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ 
Jesus our Lord?" 1 Away from earth, O my spirit ! Away 
from this sojourn in dim twilight where nothing is, but all is 
in the act of being ! Sink into thy source. Before that never- 
changing eye, which across the flight of ages beholds the con- 
summation of all things, Thou also dost stand made perfect. 

1 Rom. viii. 29, 30, 39. 



56 12. I resisted ignorantly in Unbelief . 

Yes ! before that eye I am already justified, sanctified, and 
glorified. Already does the crown adorn my brow, though 
here I still bear the cross. What is faith ? Is it not the eye 
that sees the invisible things ? Is it not the anchor that enter- 
eth into that within the veil? 1 

All this hast Thou done in loving-kindness alone. What 
else, indeed, could have been Thy motive, seeing that Thy 
love is older than my life ? As Thou hast first given to us 
whatever we can give thee back in return, 2 so likewise are all 
the ways by which Thou hast led us loving- kindness, and 
nothing else. 

Even now, my soul, see thy salvation wrought, 
Thy sorrow turned away, thy battle fought ; 
Even now in spirit the Saviour's throne thou sharest, 
Even now in spirit the crown of glory wearest. 

Offspring of time, ye fleeting cares, adieu ! 
To-morrow, yesterday, I've done with you ; 
In vast eternity's domain I live, 
Where God to me will bliss eternal give. 



12. 

31 resists tpflrantlg in WinMizL 

Why art Thou not by all adored ? 
Because they do not know Thee, Lord. 
Hadst Thou to me Thy beauties shown, 

Thee, Thee I would have loved alone. 

i Tim. i. 12-14. "I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who 
hath enabled me, for that He counted me faithful, putting 
me into the ministry ; who was before a blasphemer, and 
a persecutor, and injurious : but I obtained mercy, be- 

1 Heb. vi. 19. 2 Rom. xi. 35. 



12. I resisted ignorantly in Unbelief. 57 

cause I did it ignorantly in unbelief. And the grace of 
our Lord was exceeding abundant with faith and love 
which is in Christ Jesus." 

AND so blasphemers, persecutors, and revilers were the 
kind of persons whom Christ invited into His kingdom ! 
Nay, it was far worse; for though to many it may seem a 
dangerous thing to say, still the Lord himself has averred that 
" publicans and harlots " — that is, the vilest slaves of sin — are 
more welcome to become His subjects than the specious 
saints who deem themselves superlatively good. 1 No wonder, 
then, that even on this earth these paragons of virtue decline 
to hold fellowship with the maimed, and the halt, and the 
blind, whom the Lord sent His messengers into the streets 
and lanes of the city to invite, 2 and when they meet them 
keep some paces aloof. Well, then, measures have been 
adopted that also in the world to come you will run no risk 
of being defiled by such low company ; for, when translated 
there, between you and them you will find a great gulf fixed. 

The Lord our God, however, as Luther says, is an Artist 
who delights only in difficult masterpieces, and cares not for 
plain carving. He is also specially fond of working from the 
block, and therefore always chooses the hardest timber and 
stone on which to display the perfection of his skill. This has 
been His custom from the earliest times. Even the people 
which He chose out of all the nations of the earth for His own, 
and of which He said, " My dove, my undefiled is but one," 3 
was a very raven. Alas ! too often they forgot the Father who 
had led them out of the wilderness, and in pure mercy and 
loving-kindness brought them into the land flowing with milk 
and honey. And doubtless, hereafter, when we shall be walk- 
ing through the streets of the heavenly Jerusalem, many a lofty 
palace built of the most precious stones shall we behold. But 
methinks the fairest ornament of them all will be the motto 
engraven upon the porch — 

1 Matt. xxi. 31. 2 Luke, xiv. 21. 3 Song of Sol. vi. 9. 



58 12.7 resisted ignorant ly in Unbelief. 

Immersed in miry pits profound, 
His chosen folk the Saviour found, 
And brought them to this glorious place, 
To show the wonders of His grace. 

For such is the inscription which must stand upon e very- 
house of which the Lord is the builder. 

Accordingly Saul was a stone superlatively hard; but the 
very hardest of stones, if it strive with the Lord, must prove 
brittle as a potter's vessel, and be dashed to pieces. Is it not 
written, " Whosoever shall fall on this stone shall be broken ; 
but on whomsoever it shall fall, it will grind him to powder " ? 1 
Hear also the words of Luther : " Christ speaks and says, 
Good people, beware of meddling and embroiling'yourselves 
with me. If you do, I plainly tell you that I am a stone, and 
will not be afraid of the pots, however big-bellied they be, and 
however they may blow themselves out, as if they meant to 
terrify me with their wrath and threatening. The bigger and 
the more inflated they are, the sooner will they be struck, 
and the more easily broken." " It is hard for thee to kick 
against the pricks," spake the Lord Jesus to Saul. And 
although Saul resisted, he was compelled to submit; for it is 
written, " The strong shall be assigned to Him as a prey." 2 

But hard although he was, Saul was not for that reason 
of the worst quality of stone ; otherwise, in my opinion, the 
heavenly Architect would not have specially chosen and pre- 
ferred him. Certainly he was neither mud nor clay, like the 
dissemblers and hypocrites of whom we read so much in the 
Gospel. Though belonging to the same sect, he was not one 
of those Pharisees 3 who strained at a gnat and swallowed a 
camel — " paid tithes of mint, anise, and cummin, but omitted 
the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith" 4 
— and who were, no doubt, like himself, zealous against Christ 
and His doctrine, but were so for their own glory, and not for 
the glory of God. Neither was Saul a Simon the sorcerer, 
who, when Philip preached the Gospel and wrought miracles, 

1 Matt. xxi. 44. 2 Isa. liii. 12 — Luther's vers. 

3 Acts, xxvi. 5. 4 Matt, xxiii. 23. 



12. I resisted ignorantly in Unbelief. 59 

attended to the miracles and not to the preaching ; and, even 
in the former, had regard solely to the profit which might be 
reaped by him who performed, and not to that which would 
accrue to him who believed in them. Just as little did he 
follow the example of those moral heroes of the modern 
school, who, by cunning arts of exposition, contrive to oblit- 
erate the clearest language of the divine commandments. On 
the contrary, into conflict with these divine commandments he 
honourably entered, and maintained it until his strength was 
wholly spent. According to the account of himself which he 
has bequeathed to us in the 7 th chapter of the Epistle to the 
Romans, he had a zeal of God, but not according to know- 
ledge ; and even while persecuting Christ, did it with a good 
intention, deeming it a service rendered to God. 1 Now that 
is the quality of the timber which our God still uses for the 
carpentry of His temple. Of the self-same sort, as I think, 
was the malefactor on the cross. The hypocrite gazes up at 
him with astonishment, and imagines that that person got into 
Paradise at far too cheap a rate. Mark, however, what the 
entrance cost him. There was a strait gate through which it 
behoved him, as it behoves all, to pass, and to leave outside 
both his sins and his holiness ; and this the malefactor did 
when he spake to his accomplice saying : " Dost not thou 
fear God, seeing thou art in the same condemnation ? And 
we indeed justly ; for we receive the due reward of our deeds : but 
this man hath done nothing amiss." See here, ye moral 
heroes, the ditch which you require to clear ! It consists in 
the confession, " We are in the same condemization, and indeed 
justly." 2 A very brief sentence is this, but it is like a hole 
pierced in a sheet of paper, through which the eye can see the 
whole firmament. Even so it is with the heart. If it under- 
stand but the little word repentance, though ignorant of every 
other virtue, through that all heaven enters in. 

There must therefore be agreement between Paul and 
James, when the one says, " By the grace of God I am what 
1 Rom. x. 2 ; Gal. i. 13, 14. • 2 Luke, xxiii. 40, 41. 



6o 12. I resisted ignorantly in Unbelief. 

I am;" 1 and the other admonishes, " Draw nigh to God, and 
He will draw nigh to you/' 2 And again, between the Lord's 
address to Paul, "It is hard for thee to kick against the 
pricks," and what He elsewhere avers — viz., " Every one who 
is of the truth heareth my voice." And so there is. Saul 
himself had been drawing near to God, although in a wrong 
way; and while yet in bondage to the law, and labouring under 
spiritual blindness, was, notwithstanding, of the number whom 
the Lord describes as being " of the truth." For though he 
still blasphemed the name of Jesus, such was the temper of his 
mind that everything with him depended upon his knowing for 
certain that the Lord had spoken. After ascertaining that, 
never did he fail to say Amen. This he did in the instance 
before us. For the moment he is convinced that it was the 
Lord who called him, he is ready with the answer, "What 
wouldst Thou have me to do?" And for this reason he 
alleges, as a great consolation to himself, that he did what he 
did " ig?iorantly in unbelief." 

Yes, my Saviour, and that is what I too can say like him. 
I did it ignorantly when I did not recognise Thee in Thy 
servile disguise ; I did it ignorantly when Thou didst meet me 
in the way and I haughtily passed Thee by ; I did it ignorantly 
when Thou didst court me for my heart and I refused to give 
it Thee. At the same time Thou also knowest that all this 
was done in ignorance, and for that reason Thou wouldst not 
accept the repulse, but didst return again and again to knock 
at the door, and try if it were still barred. The more the spell 
of my sin dissolved, the more didst Thou disclose to me the 
charm of Thy love ; and then how could I any longer fail to 
see that to reject Thee is to reject salvation ? In this way Thou 
didst ever more and more enrich me; and when at last the 
hour came, and Thou didst reveal Thyself to me in all Thy 
majesty and beauty, I then surrendered myself wholly to Thee, 
and with Thee found at last all that I had so long, and with 
such unquenchable desire, been seeking on every hand. 

1 i Cor. xv. 10. 2 James, iv. 8. 




13. Christ is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. 

Thou art, O Lord, too strong for me ; I yield, 
For who with Thee can cope? When in the field 
Thy banner waves, the very mightiest must 
Before Thee, conquering hero, lick the dust. 

What strange delusion compassed me about ! 
Methought 'twas with my bitterest foe I fought ; 
The spell dissolved, and, petrified with woe, 
I saw of friends the dearest in that foe. 

O Love, that won me in the fiery fight, 
How did I still with scorn Thy toils requite ! 
Pardon I crave — I knew not who Thou wert, 
Or none but Thee had ever won my heart. 



13. 

ffifjtiat is tfje TOag, tfje %m% anS tjje Me. 

Full many a fathom down I went 

In learning's mines obscure, 
And studied day and night intent, 

Her treasures to secure. 
But all in vain / Till Wisdom i spake, 

He who would win me for a wife 
Must with the heart his courtship make ; 

Knowledge is but the mirrored form of life. 

John, xiv. 6. " I am the way, the truth, and the life." 
John, vii. 17. " If any man will do His will, he shall know 

of the doctrine, whether it be of God, or whether I speak 

of myself." 
Matt. v. 8. " The pure in heart shall see God." 

Disciple. — It is written, " He that believeth not shall be 
damned." 2 Does this mean, he that will not believe although 
he can, or he who cannot believe although he will? 

1 The divine wisdom manifested in Christ. — Matt. xi. 19 ; Luke, xi. 49. 

2 Mark, xvi. 16. 



62 13. Christ is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. 

Master. — And who, then, cannot believe ? 

D. — He who has experienced the truth of the apostle's aver- 
ment that " Faith is not given to every man." l 
. • M. — You know, however, who they are to whom faith is 
given ? 

D. — I know a class to whom it certainly is not. It is not 
given to them who want to see before they believe. 

M. — And I know to whom it is given. It is given to them 
who hunger and thirst. Do you hunger and thirst ? 

D.— Why should I not? 

M. — For many reasons that might be assigned, and for this, 
among others — no one hungers who is full. Is that the case 
with you ? 

D.— No. 

M. — What then do you lack ? 

D. — I cannot rightly express it ; but, if you please, I will 
say, The instrument is out of tune. 

M. — What ! have you already advanced so far ? Tell me, 
now, which of the strings is sprung. 

D. — Perhaps more than one. 

M. — But do you not know the Artist whose hand can mend 
the broken ones, and put in tune those that have lost the 
pitch ? 

D. — Yes, and No; for He whom you mean has made a 
condition with which I cannot comply. 

M. — What is it? 

D. — " Not to see a?id yet to believe." 2 I set a great value upon 
my eyes. 

M. — For the present put that aside, and answer me this 
question, can any one tune the strings unless he has the true 
pitch within himself? 

D. — No other can. 

M. — What, then, think you of Him who has put the stone 
of stumbling in your way? Has He the true pitch within 
Himself? 

1 2 Thess. iii. 2 — Luther's vers. 2 John, xx. 29. 






13. Christ is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. 63 

D. — I cannot answer No ; for there is that about Him which 
might well make one believe that He has. 

M. — What is it ? 

D. — Well, sound and colour are sister-streams from the 
same hill. What the verdure of the fresh-sown field in spring 
is to the eye — something on which it reposes with complete 
satisfaction — that, I confess, in many a quiet hour on which 
no eye but Heaven's looked down, has been to my spirit the 
contemplation of His image. I must confess that I then felt 
as if I had reached the summit of a hill so lofty that around its 
tranquil crown the storms are silent. 

M. — It almost seems to me that while your words dispute, 
your knees already bow to the Son of God and man. 

D. — There, we are again upon different roads. Do you 
mean the Son of God who ascended from earth to heaven, or 
the one who came down from heaven to earth ? 

M. — In His own Word I read : " No man hath ascended 
up to heaven but He that came down from heaven, even the 
Son of man which is in heaven ; " 1 and again : " Hereafter ye 
shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and 
descending upon the Son of man." 2 I do not, therefore, under- 
stand the distinction which you draw. Moreover, a man can 
receive nothing, except it be given him from on high. 3 Can 
he manifest God to whom God has not manifested Himself? 

D. — You express what I think; and as for bending the 
knee — 

Why should the knee not bend to all that's fair, 
If God's bright image glows reflected there ? 

M. — That, my son, is a posture in which I rejoice to see 
you. 

Bold and erect we stand upon our feet, 

When for support on our own strength we lean. 

'Tis meet that he should kneel who must receive. 

As you acknowledge Him to be the only One who has the 
true pitch within Himself, you will also accredit Him with the 

1 John, iii. 13. 2 John, i. 51. 3 John, iii. 27. 



6\ 13. Christ is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. 

power to put others in tune, and will be willing to receive at 
His hands. 

D. — Yes, I would like it much, only I love my eyes. 

M. — And so do I. But you do see; and your own words 
testify that what you see is something amazingly great. 

D. — Yes, I see a mystery ; and therefore, with eyes that see, 
I am still blind. 

M. — Does the compass less safely show the mariner the way 
through the stormy waves because it is a hidden mystery to 
him why it points to the north ? 

D. — He is the Way — that I have long known ; but He him- 
self says that He is the Truth. 

M. — And because He says it that also will be true. Not 
only is He the Truth, but He is likewise the Life. If, then, 
He promised to you also the truth, why do you not trust Him ? 

D. — I confess I saw a Way, but I have not found the 
Truth. 

M. — You say, I saw and have long known the Way ; but 
did you also follow it? 

D. — Ought I to blush if I answer that I did not ? O master ! 
I boldly aver before thee and all the world that Wisdom is the 
great goddess to whom I pay my court. 

M. — And so you love the Life only to know it ? 

Yours is indeed a curious taste, 

Content to smell rather than eat the feast. 

D. — You disparage my goddess, and yet I am not ashamed 
of her. Would that in her majesty she were not ashamed of 
me ! Knowledge — the word is far from expressing that for 
which my soul longs with a burning thirst. One may know all 
things by rote — God, angels, the world ; but that which we 
merely know by rote, neither satisfies nor tranquillises the 
mind. No ; not for so paltry a prize as that did my soul sue. 
The knowledge for which I sued is of so inward a kind, that 
were the firmament itself to become a book, and every star a 
letter, I should still deem it far too small. I will learn the 



13. Christ is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. 65 

knowledge for which I long from no volume but my own 
spirit. I have a boding impression of its being of so vast a 
compass, that all that is in heaven, and all that is in the heart 
of the Only-begotten, and all that is in the heart of God Him- 
self, will be comprehended in it. And what say you to the 
Master's own averment, that " This is life eternal, that they 
might know Thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom 
Thou hast sent " ? x 

M. — Several things I should have to say. But now I shall 
say but one. If life be the offspring of knowledge, what if 
knowledge itself be the offspring of faith, and of faith alone? 
What if the correct order be, as St Peter shows, " We believe 
and are sure " 2 (surely know) ; or, as it is expressed in the 
words of the prophet, " I will even betroth thee unto me in 
faithfulness (faith), and thou shalt know the Lord" ? 3 

D. — Methinks that way a hard one. 

M. — It has often happened that a man has confided in a 
loving hand, and, when bidden, has gone the way it led blind- 
fold, until the time came to take the bandage from his eyes. 
You say the way is hard, but, my son, it is you who are indis- 
creet. You refuse to trust Him, and yet require of Him to 
trust you. Do you not know what is written, — " The secret of 
the Lord is with them that fear Him "? 4 

D. — I can only repeat that faith is a beautiful child, if only 
it were not blind. 

M. — Do not sin, my son. Faith is not blind; for how could 
it possibly love if it did not see? Its eyes are not bound; for 
what says the apostle, — " Now we see through a glass darkly" ? 5 
Accordingly, faith sees its own objects— nay,Jit also sees some- 
thing more; it sees why it believes. And tell me, you whose 
eyes have gazed upon that One who of all the human race alone 
bears the true pitch within Him, can you say that in trusting 
Him you did not know the reason why ? 

1 John, xvii. 3 2 John, vi. 69. 3 Hos. ii. 20. 4 Psalm xxv. 14. 

5 1 Cor. xiii. 12. The ancients had metal mirrors, which showed the objects 
less distinctly than is done by ours. 

E 



66 13. Christ is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. 

D. — No doubt I saw a reason faintly and partially. But, 
after all, dear master, faith is still a bitter morsel. 

M. — Bitter only where love is lacking. He who loves relies. 
You love Him not ; and you do not love Him although you 
say that of all beings He is the most worthy of love. 

D. — In your opinion, then, the way to knowledge lies through 
faith and love ? 

M. — So I think, and so Christ says ; for all knowledge is but 
the mirror of life. 

D. — Be not displeased if I once more take refuge in His own 
words : " This is life eternal, that they might know Thee the 
only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom Thou hast sent." 

M. — The buckler breaks. The life eternal was certainly 
present in the Church long before the knowledge after which 
you aspire. " We know," says St John. " that we have passed 
from death unto life." The knowing spoken of in Scripture is 
a tasting. " We have tasted the good word of God and the 
powers of the world to come/' x " Taste and see that the Lord 
is good." 2 In those days when the Light of the world shone 
upon the Church, a garden of the Lord sprang up, and every 
tree in it was adorned with golden fruits. But what grows 
beneath the beams of the light which you see ? However near 
the sun may be, still, if its rays fall obliquely, the winter lasts 
and not a flower blossoms. And with you it fell obliquely, and 
not in the centre, which is the heart. 

D. — You nearly vanquish me, for you are mighty in the 
Word of God; and what that means I now can no longer 
doubt. Must we then begin from below ? 

M. — Where else can he who has fallen begin ? Properly 
speaking, however, faith is rather innermost than wider most, 
and it gives light both up and down. Mankind have lost the 
cheerful ring of peace ; and in what other way can they recover 
it save that in which it was lost ? We fell by disobedience, and 
only by obedience do we regain our feet. To believe is to obey. 
I know of only one test which the Lord has proposed to them 

1 Heb. vi. 5. 2 Psalm xxxiv. 9 ; 1 Pet. ii. 3. 



13. Christ is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. 6? 

who ask of Him a test. It is : "If any man will do His will, 
he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God." " The pure 
in heart shall see God." You have aspired after a knowledge 
not merely to be known to you by rote, but possessed as more 
your own than all else. But is not such a knowledge external 
only so long as your own being belies the testimony of your 
knowledge ? You wished to unite yourself in wedlock with the 
lofty goddess Wisdom, and forgot what she herself declares : 
"I love those that love me;" and, " My son, give me thine 
heart." 1 You wished to wed her, and yet are ignorant of the 
holy mystery of wedlock, which is, " that they two shall be one 
flesh;" 11 and yet you were not willing to share with her so 
much as your heart, but only your thoughts. 

D. — Let a wise man correct me ; it is as wine poured into my 
wounds. Let him smite me ; it is as ointment upon my head. 

M. — I have not yet done. Something I have still to say 
respecting the final issue. How is it possible for us to reach 
it, even with our knowledge, so long as it is written, " It doth 
not yet appear what we shall be" ? 3 The apostle has said, not 
merely of this or that individual, but of all of woman born, 
" Now we see through a glass darkly." It cannot therefore be 
faith alone that sees in the dim glass, but also knowledge, and 
that in an equal degree — the knowledge which is taught in the 
schools of earth. Where is the man who does not hold his 
breath when he contemplates the goal which beckons us at 
the consummation of all things ? " Then, however, I shall 
know even as I am known (of God)." And thou, fettered at 
every inch of the way by the dust on which thou treadest, and, 
like the weathercock, changing every hour thy course and 
compass, thou triumphest in the fancy that thou hast already 
grasped that goal with half thy hand. Yes ; as children grasp 
at the moon. And would that you were but children in your 
teens ! Who would then grudge you your sport ? But you 
are forward boys, ambitious of playing the part of master before 
the time — knights of the peacock-feather — mock monarchs in 

1 Prov. viii. 17 ; xxiii. 26. 2 Eph. v. 31, 32. 3 1 John, iii. 2. 



68 14- Faith is a new Sense. 

the realm of thought. Is not your knowledge a journey without 
an end ? Scarcely have you reached a stage when you must 
arise and proceed. Is it not like the thread of Ariadne, with 
which, painfully picking your steps, you creep on from dark- 
ness to light ? The name for it is a working day. It will be 
Sabbath where we see face to face. There only, where all is 
comprehended in one, do we find rest. And if it be true that, 

Before the image of the mountains green « 

Can mirrored on the crystal lake be seen, 
The angry storm must hush itself to rest, 
And not a ripple curl the water's breast ; 

oh, how far are you yet from seeing a correct image even in the 
glass ! For when will all be calm within you ? 

D. — The wise man says, " A right answer is like a sweet 
kiss." 1 I shall still with half-broken mast be tossed about 
upon the spacious sea, but now I know in what direction to 
look for land. 



14. 

iFattfj is a tufo &tmt. 

Faith's a sixth sense, by all confessed 
To reach much further than the rest. 

Heb. xi. 24-27. "By faith Moses, when he was come to 
years, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter ; 
choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, 
than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season; esteem- 
ing the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures 
in Egypt : for he had respect unto the recompense of the 
reward. By faith he forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath 
of the king : for he endured, as seeing Him who is in- 
visible." 

1 Prov. xxiv. 26 — Luther's vers. 



1 4. Faith is a new Sense. 69 

MOSES had become a king's son, and the future offered 
to him the prospect of honour, wealth, and luxury, 
but he chose to avouch his connection with the poor and 
servile Hebrew nation. It may well have been that he did 
not at the time foresee the forty long years of contention and 
trouble which awaited him ; for during these he was " a sorely 
afflicted man, above all men upon the earth," 1 and had little 
enjoyment. Even his natural understanding, however, was 
sufficient to show him that he would have to encounter re- 
proach and bitter variance and sore privations ; and yet from 
all of these he did not recoil. Like Christ, who instead of the 
joy which was set before Him, preferred to endure the cross, 2 
so did Moses esteem such reproach greater riches than the 
treasures in Egypt. And this is the reason why it is called 
the reproach of Christ. The recompense of the reward was 
invisible to the bodily eye ; but, notwithstanding, he beheld 
it with the eye of faith; and with faith's view of it, it behoved 
him to rest content until the 120th year of his life. Only then 
did he attain to vision ; but even then not to fruition. For 
though he saw it with his eyes, he was not allowed to touch 
with his foot the land of Canaan, the goal of his earthly pil- 
grimage. From the top of Nebo he beheld it afar off, but 
" went not over thither," 3 passing meanwhile into that better 
land of which Canaan presented but an imperfect image. 4 
The hoary pilgrim was thus a true type of the walk of faith in 
this scene of sojourn on earth. 

" He endured as seeing Him that is invisible." Yes,^such is 
faith; and no words could describe it better. It is the eye for 
the world unseen ; it is a conviction wrought into the inner man 
which makes us surer of its objects than the sense of sight 
does of those which stand before our eyes. We are told in 
Scripture 5 that it " is the substance of things hoped for, the 
evidence of things not seen ; " and this means that it is a testi- 
mony of God's Spirit in our mind, excelling every other, nay, 

1 Num. xii. 3 — Luther's vers. 2 Heb. xii. 2— Luther's vers, 

a Deut. xxxiv. 4. 4 Heb. iv. 8, 9. 5 Heb. xi. 1. 



yo 14. Faith is a new Sense. 

bidding defiance to all other testimonies of the visible world. 
For thus it is written respecting Abraham : " Against hope he 
believed in hope, that he might become the father of many 
nations, according to that which was spoken, So shall thy seed 
be. And being not weak in faith, he considered not his own 
body now dead, when he was about an hundred years old, 
neither yet the deadness of Sarah's womb : he staggered not 
at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in 
faith, giving glory to God." 1 How forcible the expression, 
" Against hope he believed in hope " ! What was there in all 
the visible world on which the patriarch could build the belief 
or expectation that his seed should one day be equal in number 
to the stars of heaven ? In nature he saw only a pure negation. 
But what does it matter although all creation say No, when 
the word of God has said Yes ? Faith fastens on Him who is 
unseen, as if it saw Him. 

How marvellous a thing faith is ! There is no power greater 
than that which the sight of our eyes exercises over us, and 
yet in defiance of it faith can hope even where there is nothing 
to hope for. In truth, however, faith itself is likewise an eye, 
and one before which all the riches of the invisible world — the 
deepest recesses of heaven, as well as the abyss of hell — lie 
disclosed. Were it otherwise, how could a man possibly pre- 
vail upon himself to put to hazard the present world, with all 
its wealth, in order to win eternity ? " Were the universal 
globe," says a believer, " and all that it contains, suspended 
upon the thread of a lie, and did I know the word of truth 
which would break the thread, that word I would utter, although 
the globe and all that it contains were to drop into the abyss." 
Whence comes this certainty and confidence? It cannot have 
its source in the sublunary world, and must be a testimony 
vouchsafed by God to the soul. Let there be but a grain of 
such inward faith, and it will remove mountains of appetites 
and lusts, and extirpate the passions most deeply rooted in the 
heart. Yes, a single grain of such faith makes the entire 
1 Rom. iv. 18-20. 






14. Faith is a new Sense. yi 

domain of visible things transparent to us. We see through 
them all, and taste through them all, the powers of the in- 
visible world to come. That " in Him we live, and move, and 
have our being" becomes a reality to the believer ; and the 
words of the Lord, "lama God at hand, and not afar off," 
a matter of experience. He scents the breath of the Divine 
Being whether he walks forth into the garden of nature, or 
mixes in the society of men, or remains in the solitude of his 
closet. We need not wonder that the generality look upon 
the believer as a fool and a dreamer who lives in a world of 
his own, instead of that which is common to the race. And 
yet the reverse is the case. They are the dreamers. It is 
they who live in a world of their own ; for so long as the 
breath of God is not everywhere traced and felt here below, 
what is the world but the vain and unsubstantial fabric of a 
dream ? No, it is we who are awake ; we who now in time 
already experience eternity, and in the present world taste the 
powers of that which is to come. 

Is it so that I am without strength ? Oh, now I perceive 
that the impotence of man is but impotence of faith ! Faith 
removes mountains. What are all the earthly things that can 
come against me — enmity, sickness, poverty, and death? 
They are only what I myself make them, by my faith or my 
unbelief. Faith subjugates and transforms without distinction 
all outward objects. If at every moment of my life I could 
cleave to Him that is invisible, as if I actually saw Him with 
my eyes, what would then be difficult, what impossible for me ? 

If, indeed, He were revealed to my view only in the char- 
acter of Judge, my strength would be broken rather than in- 
creased. But it is as the Father of my Lord Jesus Christ, and 
with outstretched arms to. embrace His prodigal son, that He 
stands before me. Am I not a citizen of the New Jerusalem 
— that Jerusalem of which it is written, " The inhabitants shall 
not say I am sick ; the people that dwell therein shall be for- 
given their iniquity" 1 X Yes; now I know why so much stress, 
1 Isa. xxxiii. 24. 



72 14- Faith is a new Sense. 

is laid upon faith, and why it is written, " O Lord, are not 
Thine eyes set upon faith?" 1 Abraham, by believing, gave 
glory to God. We glorify Thee when we believe that what 
Thou dost promise Thou art also able to perform ; and our 
faith is our only worship. 

Tell me, my soul, why to and fro, 
Wanders o'er all the earth thine eye? 
What sees it there but sin and woe, 
Bewailed with tears that never dry ? 
Or why to ocean's furthest shore 
For peace and comfort dost thou roam ? 
Eternity is at thy door, 
And all its joys thou hast at home. 

Yes, these to have and hold are thine, 
When to thy fixed and earnest gaze 
In the heart's lone and silent shrine, 
Its wealth and glory heaven displays. 
Can aught be sure if these deceive, 
And balk like airy dreams the hand ? 
Though baffled sense may not believe, 
Firm and substantial there they stand. 

What though in vain thou search around 
For some poor staff on which to lean, 
Nor one of all the ties be found 
That knit thee to this earthly scene ? 
Oh, let them unregretted go, 
With all that here thy heart could charm. 
Be not dismayed — to help thee, lo ! 
God offers an almighty arm. 

The staves on which thy hopes once leant, 

By Him were broken one by one ; 

His hand the bonds asunder rent 

Which round thy heart the world had thrown. 

And this He did that thou mightst yield 

To none but Him thy confidence, 

And on the things eternal build 

As if they stood revealed to sense. 

Oh then, my soul, if earth to thee 
Shut her inhospitable door, 
Bid her a long good-night, and be 
Undaunted as thou wert before. 



Jer. v. 3 — Luther's vers. 



15. The Heavens declare the Glory of God. 73 

Not till the senses all deny 
One grain of comfort or delight, 
Does faith's bedimmed and timid eye 
Begin to see heaven's portal bright. 



15. 

Wqz itafongi declare tjje ffilorg of &od. 

There are Three Testaments which show 

What God both is and does ; 
And he who well the First would know 

The Second must peruse ; 
Nor will he in the Second speed, 
Unless the Third be rightly read. 

Psalm xix. — A Psalm of David. Part First. — Verse 1. 
"The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firma- 
ment showeth His handiwork." 

MAN so often calls for preachers — ought he not much 
rather to desire a proper ear for hearing them ? for, 
in truth, we are surrounded with preachers wherever we turn 
our eyes. There are preachers in the firmament above, preach- 
ers in the earth below, preachers within us and preachers with- 
out. What a sermon it is which the firmament of heaven alone 
preaches to us — the sky, whether azure and serene, or overcast 
with stormy clouds ! The heaven, with its marvels, declares 
the glory of God by the magnificence of day as well as by the 
magnificence of night. 

But do many listen ? Can it be denied that until God speak 
to his heart within, man cannot comprehend the language He 
utters from everything about and above and beneath him? 
How beautiful to this effect the words of Tauler ! " He who 
gazes long at the sun sees a sun impressed on every object to 
which he afterwards turns his eye ; and it is the same with him 



74 15- The Heavens declare the Glory of God. 

who is much occupied with the contemplation of God." 
There are hours when we can stand in the bosom of nature 
and feel as if we were in a church, and a fresh doxology were 
gushing from every breast, so that we cannot choose but join 
the hymn, and are caught and borne along by the general 
flood of devotion. At other times, again, how dumb and 
speechless the creatures around us seem all to be, as if every one 
of them must needs pursue its way alone without the guidance 
of a heavenly hand ! The difference depends upon whether 
God speaks within us or not. 

Open thy heart to God ; if He be there, 

The outspread world will be thy book of prayer. 

Verse 2. "Day unto day uttereth speech, and night unto 
night showeth knowledge." 

It is still the same heaven as that to which the Saviour 
lifted up his eyes when He prayed — the same as that on which 
the childless Abraham gazed when in the silence of night he 
received the promise, " Look now towards heaven, and tell the 
stars, if thou be able to number them : ... so shall thy seed 
be." It is the same heaven as that which our first parents be- 
held, when as yet holy and sinless children they sojourned in 
Paradise. Here below, on the surface of the earth, all has 
changed — at least among the children of men ; but for 6000 
years day has been uttering unto day, and night unto night, the 
same high and perpetual discourse concerning Him by whom 
the heavens and the earth were made. There is something 
peculiarly grand and elevating in the thought that through so 
long a series of ages nature has continued the same, and yet that 
to this day she retains all the charm of novelty, because nothing 
in her merely is, but all tending to be. Who can refuse to ex- 
claim with the poet — ■ 

O nature ! what in thy fair face we see 
Not sameness is, but similarity ; 
For all is old and all grows new again 
In thy perpetual domain. 



15. The Heavens declare the Glory of God. 75 

Let a man once become sensible of the contrast between 
nature's order and regularity, and the never-ceasing inconstancy 
and fickleness of his own heart, and oh ! how does he then 
yearn for that inward steadfastness over which the vicissitude 
of light and shadow — of day and night — has lost all power ! 
It is this which gives to nature the edifying and medicinal 
influence which it exercises over us. 



Verse 3. "There is no speech nor language where their 
voice is not heard." 

How true ! Nature's is a voice that can be heard and under- 
stood in every speech and language. It addresses a man like 
the look of a friend or the pressure of an affectionate hand, 
which are intelligible to every nation of the earth without the 
aid of words. In fact, is it not the very eye of God — of Him 
who is the very best of friends — that does look out upon us 
from nature ? And in some measure at least the nations of the 
earth have not failed to catch the accents of this voice. It is 
true they could not have comprehended its meaning, and must 
have wanted the interpreter in the heart, for they worshipped 
the creature instead of the Creator. 1 Evidently they must 
have supposed that the hymn which all created things in 
heaven and upon earth are singing was a hymn in the creature's 
praise, and yet what all created things declare is the glory of the 
God who made them. How many also there are among our- 
selves by whom this is not rightly understood ! Often when I 
hear their outbursts of enthusiasm at the beauty of nature, it 
pains me to observe that it is always the mere glory of the 
creature which they extol, and that their minds do not ascend 
to Him whose handiwork the creature is. Fain would I accost 
them in the height of their admiration, and say, O my friends ! 
you quite mistake the meaning of the hymn. It celebrates the 
glory of that God who gave all their beauty to His works. 

1 Rom. i. 21-23. 



7 6 IS- The Heavens declare the Glory of God. 

Sweet lily of the field, arrayed 

In all thy pomp of dress, 
To be my pattern thou wert made, 

And gentle monitress. 

" O come, let us worship and bow down ; let us kneel before 
the Lord our Maker. For He is our God ; and we are the 
people of His pasture, and the sheep of His hand." 1 

Verses 4-6. " Their line 2 is gone out through all the earth, 
and their words to the end of the world. In them 3 hath 
He set a tabernacle for the sun, which is as a bridegroom 
coming out of his chamber, and rejoiceth as a strong man 
to run a race. His going forth is from the end of the 
heaven, and his circuit unto the ends of it : and there is 
nothing hid from the heat thereof." 

Every object in the firmament of heaven declares the glory 
of God. Every object produces upon us the impression that 
all is old and all new in that perpetual domain. This im- 
pression, however, we receive chiefly from the sun, when we 
see it every morning ascend the horizon in youthful freshness, 
as if emerging from a bath. To one of us it might well appear 
that in the opposite hemisphere it had been recruiting its 
strength, as we, the children of men, have meanwhile ourselves 
been doing during the silence of night ; and yet its setting here 
has only been its rising there. How it bedims with its splen- 
dour whatever else presumes to shine beside it, and so in per- 
fect solitude ascends the heavens ! How monarch-like, and, 
as it were, without respect of persons, it sheds its beams upon 
mountain and valley, upon the humble and the great ! We 
can scarcely wonder that they to whom the second of God's 
Testaments was not vouchsafed to help them to expound the 
first, which is the Book of Nature, should have prostrated 
themselves and adored it as the Lord. And yet what is it but 
the ministering servant of Him who claims it as His own, and 
of whom we read that " He maketh His sun to rise on the evil 

1 Psalm xcv. 6, 7. 2 According to others, sound. 

3 I.e., in the ends of the world or the heavens. 



15. The Heavens declare the Glory of God. J? 

and the good " ? Nay, it is but the servant of His servants, 
for it only ministers to other suns which all at last circle around 
Him who bears the name of the " Father of Lights." x Doubt- 
less there was truth in the apostle's words when he said that 
" the invisible things of God, even His eternal power and 
Godhead, are clearly seen from the creation of the world ; " so 
that the Gentiles " are without excuse." 2 In fact, however, 
these things are clearly seen only by those in whose heart His 
precious Word — the Holy Bible — has kindled the light which 
illumines all nature besides. When it is said that the three 
revelations of God — that in Nature, that in the Old Testa- 
ment, and that in the New — constitute together a single book 
in three parts, it is a book which can be properly understood 
only when in reading it we reverse the order. If, however, 
the two latter parts have been duly mastered, and we then 
again open the first, oh what sermons never before imagined 
resound from it in our ears ! None but a disciple of Christ 
understands the meaning of the words when, encompassed by 
the glories of nature, He exclaims : " Put off thy shoes from 
thy feet, for the place where thou standest is holy ground." 
Yes ; only the Christian, when he calls the earth holy ground, 
knows that it is because the Holy One of God once trod it 
with sinless foot — because on it He offered the sacrifice of His 
precious blood — and because upon it, when it shall have been 
consecrated afresh, " the tabernacle of God shall be with men, 
and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people, 
and God Himself shall be with them, and be their God." 3 
This is to look into the heart of His grace : and to him, but 
only to him, who thus looks, does the world become full of 
mere miracles of mercy. Oh, with what new eyes do we read 
the book of nature when we see on every page of it the traces 
of One who so loved the world that He did not spare His 
only-begotten Son, but tore Him from His heart, and delivered 
Him up, that the world might be saved ! 

When with an eye like this a man gazes into nature, it is 
very true that his heart will, even less than that of others, be 

1 James, i. 17. 2 Rom. i. 20. 3 Rev. xxi. 3. 



J 8 15. The Heavens declare the Glory of God. 

satiated with her loveliness • but then it will be filled with bod- 
ings of the imperishable beauty of that new earth upon which 
God's children shall dwell from eternity to eternity, when they 
have attained to the glorious freedom which has been promised 
to them. Then does the enraptured heart send forth exulting 
shouts, and sing — 

Lord, if Thy throne and footstool shine 

So brightly here below, 
Who shall the glories all divine 

Within Thy heart that glow ? 

And again — 

Fair art thou, earth, clad in so bright array ; 
And when thy dazzling beauty I survey, 
Enraptured, I exclaim — Yes, thou art fair ! 

So fair thou art even now when on thy plains 
Walk sinful men, whose touch thy soil profanes, 
And proudly vaunt themselves thy sovereign lords. 

But, earth, what wilt thou be when o'er thy fields 

The hand of ransomed saints the sceptre wields ? 

For that blest day thou keep'st thy bridal robes. 

My Father in heaven, I know and have felt that every object 
in Thy glorious kingdom may become to us a preacher, and 
that the fault lies in our obdurate ears that nature, alike in her 
loveliness and terror, preaches to us so little. All created 
things discourse of Thy glory. Day utters it unto day, and 
night unto night. Oh give me a truly childlike heart, that I 
may comprehend what they say ! Vouchsafe to me also an 
unruffled mind, that in the voice of the whole creation I may 
hear that of the uncreated God, who is my Father and my 
Lord. I will exercise my thoughts upon Thy holy word of 
revelation, that so I may become more intelligent of what it 
may be Thy will to say to me from the book of nature. And 
above and beyond all the loveliness of nature now displayed 
to my view, vouchsafe to me a blissful presentiment of that 
happy day when the earth, the present cradle of fallen human- 
ity, shall, along with her Lord, be exalted to the imperishable 
glory which thou hast destined for them. 






1 6. The Law of the Lord converteth the Soul. 79 

16. 

W$z 3Lafo of tfje 3Lorti nmoertetfj tje .Soul 

Z?/£tf .xr^ Afo righteous, but he well must know 
That which right is, who what is right would do. 

Psalm xix. Part Second. — Verse 7. " The law of the Lord 
is without change, 1 converting the soul : the testimony of 
the Lord is sure, making wise the simple." 

LIKE the word of God in nature, so likewise is His word 
in revelation without change; and that is the reason 
why it recruits 1 my soul. I need a divine word which con- 
tinues always the same, and which is sure. Man is required 
to build his whole life upon religion ; what would become of 
him if religion itself rested on no solid and immovable founda- 
tion ? Oh, could I but build all my actions upon the Lord's 
unchangeable law and sure testimony, how unchangeable and 
sure my whole life itself would then become ! And yet what 
is this but true wisdom ? I have always figured to myself the 
wise man as one who never needs to change his principles, 
but remains constantly like himself. To such a condition, 
however, we can only attain by founding our life on a sure 
testimony of God; for, as King Solomon says, "All the ways 
of a man are clean in his own eyes ; but the Lord alone maketh 
the heart sure." 2 

Verses 8, 9. " The statutes of the Lord are right, rejoic- 
ing the heart : the commandment of the Lord is pure, 
enlightening the eyes. The fear of the Lord is clean, 
enduring for ever : the judgments of the Lord are true, 
and righteous altogether." 

How delightful to me it is that the Lord's commandments 

1 Luther's vers. 2 Prov. xvi. 2 — Luther's vers. 



80 1 6. The Law of the Lord ' convert eth the Soul. 

are all pure and clean, and true and righteous ! Well do I know- 
that the knowledge of God and the knowledge of man are the 
two hinges on which the door of heaven turns. But not less 
conscious am I, from my natural inclinations, that the thoughts 
which I entertain respecting myself, the world, and God, are 
far from being right; and hence the continual desire I have to 
compare them with the thoughts of a being who is higher than 
myself. It seems to me that we can offer to God no more 
simple and natural prayer than this ; — 

Oh search my inmost thoughts, that they 
May never from Thy precepts stray ; 

Guide heart and mind 

The truth to find. 

Every day do I experience that a right point of view, even 
when I have succeeded in finding it, is so apt to be again lost; 
and I see more truth than I can express in the saying of the 
apostle James, that when we contemplate our inner man, it 
happens to us, as it does to him who looks at his bodily face 
in a glass : " He beholdeth himself," are the words, " and 
goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man 
he was." 1 Take a single instance : I clearly see how greatly 
we need to call in our scattered senses, and to concentrate the 
whole force of our minds upon the great task of life, in order 
to discharge it aright. And more or less this is a conviction 
which many share. We act, however, like men who, although 
knowing that they have a tower to build, do yet in their daily 
avocations makeno greater preparation for it than if it were some 
paltry hut. How needful, then, it is to resort frequently to the 
divine Word, if for nothing else than to keep alive in our minds 
the consciousness of what the chief task of life is ! How great 
a boon it is to possess commandments of God that are alto- 
gether clean and pure, and true and right ! For even though 
it be said that God is nothing but an unuttered sigh in every 
human heart, who is able to utter it until the word of revela- 
tion has taught him the proper language ? 
1 James, i. 23, 24. 



1 6. The Law of the Lord converteth the Soul. 81 

Perse 10. " More to be desired are they than gold, yea, 
than much fine gold : sweeter also than honey, and the 
honeycomb." 

To utter with perfect sincerity these words of the Psalmist 
is far from an easy task. Well do we know that we ought to be 
able to do it. But are we able ? It pertains to the delusion 
by which we are all ensnared, that we fancy ourselves to be as 
much better as we have learned to know better what it is to be 
so. Still I have reason to praise the Lord. At one period of 
my life, no doubt, there were many things which, in the inmost 
recesses of my heart, I felt to be dearer to me and sweeter to 
my taste than the word and the commandment of my God, 
and when I could not have understood at all what the Psalmist 
here says. But it is otherwise with me now, in so far as that 
I can now declare that I understand what he avers — nay, more, 
that I feel it. Moreover, I can see what my Saviour means 
when He affirms, " My meat is to do the will of Him that sent 
me." I experience a blessedness in thinking that God has 
revealed His will in a sure word ; and even when, in any par- 
ticular instance, it seems bitter to reduce it to practice, still 
even in this bitterness there is a mixture of what is sweet ; and 
by the grace of God I hope to advance ever further and further 
in the same way. Oh how abundant a source of felicity that 
will be ! 

Verses n, 12. " Moreover by them is Thy servant warned : 
and in keeping of them there is great reward. Who can 
understand his errors? Cleanse Thou me from secret 
faults." 

Great, no doubt, is the reward of keeping the commandments 
even here below. It always seems to me to be in itself a great 
reward that God counts us worthy of being taken into His 
service. I feel it to be a high honour when I think that I am 
the servant of such a Master. Nay, rather are we His children 

F 



82 1 6. The Law of the Lord convert eth the Soul. 

when we are able heartily and willingly to do His will, and 
that is a still more blessed reward ; for they who are children 
are likewise heirs, yea, joint-heirs with Christ, the true and the 
only-begotten Son. 1 

The warning given to us by the commandments of my God, 
I will endeavour to improve as often as I find myself again in 
danger of falling into ways of my own. I know that in a 
thousand things I am yet unacquainted with myself, and this 
therefore shall be my daily prayer : — 

Eye, that on guile and falsehood cannot look, 
Blessed are they no secret sins who brook, 

But, free from sly 

Hypocrisy, 
To God and man do what is right, 
And humbly walk before Thy sight. 

Verse 13. " Keep back Thy servant also from presumptuous 
sins ; let them not have dominion over me : then shall I 
be upright, and I shall be innocent from the great trans- 
gression." 

Do I still commit presumptuous, or, in other words, deliber- 
ate sins ? Would to God that I did not ! for he who willingly 
offends against any one commandment, is upon the way to 
commit the sin against the Holy Ghost. It is true that this is 
often done by us without our being conscious of it. We prac- 
tise some self-deception in order to hang a veil over the divine 
commandment, and in this manner are gradually enticed into 
acts which previously, with a clear and unclouded eye, we 
looked upon as evil. And here again it is important that we 
should frequently hold up before our eyes the mirror of God's 
Word, and submit to its reproofs. It may likewise have a 
wholesome effect to cherish, as the pious Psalmist does, a con- 
tinual mistrust of ourselves, lest by ceasing to walk circum- 
spectly we may perchance become guilty even of the "great 
transgression." When I question my heart whether it would 
1 Rom. viii. 17. 



1 6. The Law of the Lord converteth the Soul. 83 

be possible for me wholly to break with Him whom at present 
my soul loves as its dearest portion, I am constrained to say 
that in myself I have no certainty and confidence that I shall 
always abide with Him. Such certainty I find only in Himself. 



Verse 14. " Let the words of my mouth, and the medita- 
tion of my heart, be acceptable in Thy sight, O Lord, my 
strength, and my Redeemer. 

Yes, O my God, let them be acceptable unto Thee ! After 
almost every quiet prayer and holy meditation in the divine 
presence, we have the consciousness that there was an ear 
which heard us, and a heart which received our sighs. The 
effect of a silent colloquy with God is so soothing ! There 
was a time when I used greatly to wonder at these words of 
Luther : — 

Bear and forbear and silent be, 
Tell to no man thy misery ; 
Yield not in trouble to dismay — 
God can deliver any day. 

I wondered, because we feel the outpouring of grief into the 
heart of a friend to be so sweet. At the same time, he 
who talks much of his troubles to men is apt to fall into a way 
of saying too little of them to God; while, on the other hand, 
he who has often experienced the blessed alleviation which 
flows from silent converse with the Eternal, loses much of his 
desire for the sympathy of his fellows. It appears to me now 
as if spreading out our distress too largely before men, served 

>nly to make it broader, and to take away its zest ; and hence 
le proverb, " Talking of trouble makes it double." On the 

;ontrary, if, when in distress, we can contrive to maintain calm 
composure of mind, and to bear it always as in the sight of 

rod, submissively waiting for succour from Him according to 
le words of the Psalmist, "Truly my soul waiteth upon God; 

from Him cometh my salvation," 2 — in that case, the distress 
1 Psalm lxii. i. 



84 1 6. The Law of the Lord converteth the Soul. 

neither extends in breadth nor sinks in depth. It lies upon 
the surface of the heart like the morning mist, which the sun 
as it ascends dissipates into light clouds. 

O thou Searcher of hearts ! let the sure testimony of Thy 
Word make my heart sure, and the purity of Thy command- 
ments purify and enlighten my eyes. Thou knowest me better 
than I know myself. Let Thy light shine even unto the most 
hidden folds of my soul. How different the light in which I 
now appear from that in which I saw myself a year ago ! and 
yet I am conscious of still wearing a mask which conceals me 
from myself, and of often trying to think that I am what I am 
not. I see the temptation, and yet cannot make my escape 
from it. I perceive the hook of Satan, and yet snatch at the 
bait. If my rescue from these snares of self-deception de- 
pended upon efforts of my own, I would give them up in de- 
spair, for the more I struggle the more I become entangled. 
To Thee, then, O Lord, to Thee I turn, that Thy pure and 
holy Spirit may disclose to me my secret faults. Grant that 
Thy divine Word may serve as a bright mirror in which I 
behold my image in its perfect truth. Lo, I feel that I have 
fortitude enough to condemn myself, if Thy Word require it at 
my hands. It is for truth, and truth alone, that my soul is 
athirst. Even although death be in it, oh, rather give me death 
with truth than life with falsehood ! It is because I find per- 
fect truth in Thy law that Thy law is so sweet to me. That is 
the reason for which I love it even when it wrings every sub- 
terfuge from my hands, and tears asunder the veils behind 
which I would have concealed myself from Thy face. I am 
willing to be condemned by Thee, because I know that none 
gain admission into heaven but they who confess that their 
desert was hell. 

And shall I never, then, O Lord my God, advance so far as 
to live so much as a single day without sin in Thy sight ? Oh, 
if I cannot be exempt from such sins as spring from infirmity 
of the flesh, or indiscretion, or sloth, keep me at least from 
falling into presumptuous sins ! Above all that, however, 






iy. Meditate in His Law day and night 85 

above and beyond my transgressions, both little and great, 
above my self-reproaches and self-exculpations, lies the confi- 
dence towards Thee which through Christ Jesus I am privileged 
to entertain. Forbid that the corrections of Thy Word should 
ever make me forget its consolations; for although it behoves 
us to condemn ourselves, we must do it only in order to be 
justified by Thee. Alas for man ! how apt he is to overlook 
the one of these things in the other ! and yet they are both 
alike indispensable for his salvation. O Lord, guide me by 
Thy Spirit, that on the narrow way I may turn aside neither to 
the right hand nor to the left. 



17. 

jEetJttate in M% 3Lafo trag antf ntg|}i 

/ am a dry and withered stock / 

I hear thee still complain ; 
But plant thee by the water-brook, 

And thou It grow green again. 

Psalm i. 1, 2. " Blessed is the man that walketh not in the 
counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, 
nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. But his delight is 
in the law of the Lord ; and in His law doth he meditate 
day and night." 

FULL well did godly men, even under the Old Testament, 
discern how precious a gift the grace of God has pro- 
vided for us in His Word; and gladly did they forsake all 
other company in order to commune with Him there. How 
poor a novice, then, must I be, who still pant so eagerly for the 
companionship of men, though I have the offer of companion- 
ship so delightful with the good of all ages, and with Him who 



86 ly. Meditate in His Law day and night 

is my God and my Lord ! Of what sort are the companies 
into which I go ? Do I always return from them more com- 
posed, more devout, or in any way a better man ? And if not, 
does the fault lie wholly with the persons whom I meet ? No ; 
I am persuaded that if all were right with myself — if on these 
occasions I were to bear in remembrance all that has been 
done for me — even the counsel of the ungodly might then 
prove to me a counsel for good. But, alas ! how often do I 
barter my birthright for a mess of pottage : lay myself, like 
Samson, in Delilah's lap, — and when the cry is heard, " The 
Philistines be upon thee!" and Samson awakes, behold, his 
strength is departed from him ! 

The pious Psalmist possessed only the Old Testament, and 
yet felt himself rich and happy in possessing it, although to its 
disciples the Old Testament was a schoolmaster stern and 
severe. I possess the benign and precious Gospel, and yet I 
am far from valuing it as I ought. It was a saying of Luther 
that " Holy Scripture is a sweet-scented herb, and that the 
more you rub it, the more it emits its fragrance." Alas ! never, 
certainly, have I rubbed it enough ; I still cleave so much to 
the ingenious thoughts of men and the deep things of the 
learned. And yet the Bible alone is a deep ocean • whereas 
learned men, even when their cogitations are shrewdest, are 
mere water-cisterns, which in seasons of need sometimes run 
dry and sometimes congeal. In approaching the Word of God, 
I must empty myself of my own thoughts and imaginations 
far more than I have ever done ; for when our hands are full 
we can receive no more. I take too little pains with the 
Word, forgetting that he who desires to drink new wine must 
not decline the labour of treading the press. The Psalmist 
says that "in God's law he doth meditate;" and ought we not 
to go earnestly to work with His Word, seeing that it is written, 
" O Lord, how great are Thy words ! and Thy thoughts are very 
deep. A brutish man knoweth not, neither doth a fool understand 
this"? 1 Ye proud masters who treat the blessed Word of God 

l Psalm xcii. 5, 6 — Luther's vers. 



1J. Meditate in His Law day and night. Sy 

as if it were a mere alphabet-book for children, and for no 
better reason than because you are yourselves mere A-B-C-Da- 
rians in divine things, how will the saying of the Psalmist one 
day rise up and bear testimony against you ? As yet, like the 
water-spider, you have but glided fleetly over the surface of 
this ocean. Oh that you would attempt even for once to dive 
into its depths ! 

We are surprised that so little of the faith of our fathers 
is to be found amongst us. But what else save little of their 
faith can there be, seeing that there is amongst us so little of 
their habit of prayer and meditation upon God's Word and law? 
Need we wonder that the children can no more wage wars like 
those of which they hear their fathers discourse, when they 
refuse to practise the martial exercises in which their fathers 
were trained ? We complain of being so overburdened with 
work that we have no leisure for prayer and meditation on the 
Word ; and yet we read of a man who had a task upon his 
shoulders that would have been too heavy for ten of us, but of 
whom one of his familiar friends has borne testimony that he 
did not allow a single day to pass without devoting to prayer 
at least three of the hours most convenient for the purpose. 1 

Verse 3. "And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers 
of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season ; his 
leaf also shall not wither ; and whatsoever he doeth shall 
prosper." 

How good a thing it must be when a man resembles the 
tree here described, which always, as the season when it is due 
irrives, brings forth its fruit, and whose leaves do not wither ! 
To make this, however, possible, the tree must be planted by 
the rivers of water, in order that there may be a continual sup- 
)ly of fresh moisture to the root. How apt, then, the figure, 
when the pious Psalmist here compares the Holy Scriptures to 
such a water-brook ! Oh what a flood of power and life 
1 Veit Dietrich in the 8th Sermon of Mathesius. 



88 ly. Meditate in His Law day and night. 

streams in upon a man when the Word of God, as the apostle 
expresses it, is mixed with faith in his heart ! He thereby 
acquires a sort of invincibility, so that with the Bible in his 
hand he can put to flight his weakness, his sloth, gloomy 
thoughts, temptations of the flesh, and all his spiritual enemies, 
be they however strong or subtle, and called by whatsoever 
name. Just as our Lord and Master showed in His own 
temptation, when, with no other sword and buckler but the 
Word, He discomfited Satan. How happy the man would be 
who, amidst life's troubles and conflicts, could adopt the 
language of good Dr Luther and say, " The Lord not only 
acts as the shepherd of the Christian flock, but likewise gives 
His rod and staff, which means His Word, that it may be to 
them a sword! And this weapon they carry not in their hand, 
but in their mouth, and with it do not only comfort them that 
mourn, but likewise put the devil, with all his emissaries, be 
they ever so subtle and keen, to rout. In this way, by the 
grace of God, I have kept my feet for these eighteen years 
past, and have allowed my enemies continually to rage and 
threaten, slander, condemn, devise wicked plots and machina- 
tions, and practise all kinds of villany against me. I have 
allowed them anxiously to perplex their minds with schemes 
to take away my life and uproot my doctrine, or, as I ought 
rather to say, God's ; and yet all the while I was happy and in 
good spirits, though better, no doubt, at one time than another, 
and gave little heed to their bluster and rage, but kept hold 
of the rod of comfort and sat at the Lord's table — by which I 
mean that I committed to Him the cause in which, without 
desire or intention of mine, He had enlisted me — and mean- 
while repeated to Him a paternoster or a psalm." 

Here, my dear readers, you have a specimen of the peculiar 
power derived from the fresh water-brooks when a man plants 
himself beside them, and has his root nourished by the Word 
of God. And wherever such power reigns in the heart, there, 
without fail, does a man also bring forth fruit in his season ; 
which means, that whatever it be which duty calls upon him 



I/. Meditate in His Law day and night. 89 

at any time to do, he then finds himself competent for the 
task, because he continues always fresh. Christian faith gives 
brightness to the eyes and colour to the cheeks ; whereas he 
who lives without the Word of God is one whose calendar, 
every day and hour, shows a change of weather, and whose 
whole life is one long April month, when sunshine and snow- 
drift, fresh growth and sear decay, perpetually succeed each 
other. This, however, is a secret which must not be divulged 
to the world, and therefore he must needs have recourse to 
paint, that he may present a decent appearance when he goes 
into company ; and thus, at last, he learns to tell lies to him- 
self. I have read of a celebrated man 1 that, when about to 
expire, he cried out in sore distress, "Give me great thoughts" 
Now no one doubts that great thoughts are like sea-waves 
which bear proud vessels aloft, or like the cool shade of the 
fig-tree in a sultry day, or like noble elms on which the vine 
can fasten for support. Great thoughts train a man to great- 
ness; but what are all the great thoughts in the world compared 
with God's eternal thoughts of peace disclosed to us in the 
Gospel? When it is with these that the Christian moistens 
the roots of his existence — when these are what he makes his 
prop and stay, and on which he climbs aloft — when these are 
what he keeps perpetually before the eyes of his soul — he 
cannot fail to acquire an inward steadfastness. Such an one 
can never wither; and, moreover, whatsoever he doeth must 
prosper. Why do other people not prosper in their doings ? 
The reason is, because they have no one to control their 
thoughts : in other words, in place of being governed by the 
eternal thoughts of God, they have many masters, and many 
of these are unwise, and suggest to them some new folly every 
hour. Will you never learn how pitiable a creature he is who 
allows himself to be driven and tossed about by every momen- 
tary freak, every gust of humour and desire, as the wave is 
seized and tossed by the whirlwind ? This is what the Psalmist 
expresses with still greater force in the following words : — 

1 Herder. 



90 ly. Meditate in His Law day and flight. 

Verse 4. " The ungodly are not so : but are like the chaff 
which the wind driveth away." 

How singularly true ! Ungodly or God-/m is equivalent in 
meaning to mot-less, which implies that they are the sport of 
all the winds of caprice and accident. When I observe the 
persons who do not make the divine Word the rule of their 
life, I see in by far the most of them the mere reflection of the 
circumstances by which they are surrounded, and of the events 
in which they are involved. They do not themselves know 
what they shall be next year, or even to-morrow. As for 
others, to whom this description may not apply, it may be that 
they really have a compass to direct their course ; but it is 
that of the world, and is contained in the following proverb : — 

/, me, and mine, those mighty powers, 
Rule, at their will, this world of ours. 

The vast majority, however, do not follow even that com- 
pass, but are like the chaff which the least breath of wind 
disperses on every side. " I hate vain thoughts ; but Thy law 
do I love," * says the Psalmist in another passage, but to the 
same effect — viz., that the man in whom the law of the Lord 
does not wield the sceptre, is like a ship without a pilot, or a 
pilot without a compass, or a compass without a needle. An 
Eastern poet has said — 



Man's heart is like the apple 

Which to and fro is driven, 
On some deserted heath, 

By the four winds of heaven. 
Man's heart is likejhe water 

That seethes in a pot, 
And sinks and bubbles up 

As the fire grows cold or hot. 






It thus appears that that which the human heart lacks, and 
which it has most need to obtain, has been recognised by man 
from where the sun rises to where it sets. The only thing they 
did not know was where to find it. 

1 Psalm cxix. 113. 



ly. Meditate in His Law day and night. 91 

Verses 5,6. " Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the 
judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous. 
For the Lord knoweth the way of the righteous ; but the 
way of the ungodly shall perish." 

If we compare the way of the ungodly with that of the 
children of God in their journey through the world, it certainly 
does appear as if the former were never at a loss for a path on 
which to go ; just as the Lord on a certain occasion said to His 
yet unbelieving brethren, " Your time is alway ready." 1 The 
way of the righteous, however, which is the way of divine 
prescription, is rough, uphill, and narrow, and often without 
any visible outlet. Nevertheless, while he is looking anxiously 
around, and his heart faints and fears, the eye of God has long 
seen where it is to terminate, and to terminate in triumph ; 
whereas the broad way of the ungodly perishes. 

From depths to many a wondrous height, 

From straits to places wide, 
To show the wonders of His might, 

The Lord His folk doth guide. 

Forward, then, thou faint and trembling heart — still forward 
upon the path of duty — the path prescribed by God ! Thou 
canst not see the issue, but His eye has seen it long ago. His 
world has been so arranged, that upon the path of duty, and 
upon that path alone, can the blissful goal be reached. A 
pious Israelite of the olden time has said that " the world is 
founded upon the law of Moses," which means nothing else 
than that the path of duty and integrity cannot ultimately con- 
duct to any but the happiest end. 

O consolatory thought that " the Lord knoweth my way /" I 
will therefore no longer stop or linger for a moment, even 
though to my own timid eye the path of duty may seem to be 
leading me into the yawning abyss. The Lord knoweth my way, 
and everything in the world ; yea, the whole creation must 
become ministering angels to those who follow the direction of 
1 John, vii. 6. 



92 ly. Meditate in His Law day and night. 

His law. He who gave the commandments is the self-same 
God who guides with His hand all the powers of earth and 
heaven. 

" The way of the ungodly shall perish" For a little it may 
still continue, but perish it one day shall, and that in terror. 
It sometimes appears as if the Lord had forgotten His sacred 
office of judge, although, certainly, He will let nothing escape 
Him at the last. But not seldom, on the other hand, it appears 
as if even here in time, while he is confidently walking upon 
the broad way, the ungodly man felt a presentiment that that 
way is, ere long, suddenly to perish. For do we not occasion- 
ally observe in the lives of persons who are utterly forgetful of 
God, and already hardened in their minds, an inward hesita- 
tion and uncertainty, so that they all at once stand still like 
one awaking out of sleep, into which he immediately sinks 
back? And are not these, as it were, moments in which some 
single solemn toll of the bell that is to ring in the general 
judgment is wafted to their ear ? " The way of the Lord is 
strength to the upright, but the workers of iniquity are of faint 
heart." * 

Cherish, my soul, the elevating thought 
That on the Word is built the world of God ; 
And that though nature's frame asunder break, 
On duty's path I'm safe amid the wreck. 
Be not dismayed though in the conflict dire 
Truth's cause may seem — it seems but — to expire. 
The ark of God unharmed survives the fray, 
And all earth's crowns the crown of Christ obey. 



1 Prov. x. 29 — Luther's vers. 



i8. I am not come to destroy the Law, &c. 93 

18. 

\ am not come to bestrog tjje Hafo anb tfje -fliropfjete. 

Thou say^st I have tlu picture bright ', 

^4«^ care not on the sketch to look. 
Yet even the sketch is worth a sight ; 

It shows t/ie pains the painter took. 

Matt. v. 17. "Think not that I am come to destroy the 
law, or the prophets : I am not come to destroy, but to 
fulfil." 

Rom. xv. 4. " Whatsoever things were written aforetime 
were written for our learning, that we through patience 
and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope." 

SUCH is the divine seal which the mouth of truth has 
impressed upon the Old Testament, in order that we may 
never treat with indifference or contempt those writings which 
the Saviour read as the book of His heavenly Father. In 
general it was not to destroy that He — the epitome of all truth 
— appeared on earth. He came to fill up any outline of truth 
already existing, and to make of it a picture replete with life 
and power. As the stars do not really lose their light at the 
rising of the sun, but only lose it to our eyes, so is it with all 
the sparks of truth which were scattered abroad in the world 
when the sun of Christ arose ; they still possess a glory — but 
then, as the apostle says, their glory is not to be considered a 
glory when compared with that which excelleth. 2 Oh that I 
had eyes to see the divine light which already shone in Moses 
and the prophets ! God of the fathers, teach me devoutly to 
read that book which was devoutly read by 'my Saviour. O 
Thou God of Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, Thy testimonies 
have I taken as an heritage for ever, for they are the rejoicing 

1 2 Cor. iii. 10. 



94 1 8. I am not come to destroy 

of my heart. " Whatsoever things were written aforetime were 
written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort 
of the Scriptures might have hope." Y " Open Thou mine eyes, 
that I may behold wondrous things out of Thy law." 2 

How marvellous a temple of God is Scripture from its first 
commencement to its final close ! It is coextensive with the his- 
tory of the world, and accompanies, as it were, the human race 
from their origin to their end. " In the beginning God created 
the heavens and the earth," are its opening words ; and it termi- 
nates with a description of the period when New Jerusalem, 
the holy city, shall come down from God out of heaven, and the 
Lord God shall give light to His people, and they shall reign for 
ever and ever. 3 That is one broad characteristic which even an 
eye penetrating no deeper than the surface can scarcely fail to 
observe in the Book of God. I read in an author, to whom even 
the children of the world bend those knees which they refuse 
to bend to Christ, as follows : " The high veneration which has 
been paid to the Bible by so many of the nations and kindreds 
of the earth, is due to its intrinsic worth. It is not merely a 
kind of national book, but it is the book of the nations ; ex- 
hibiting, as it does, the fortunes of one of these as the symbol 
of all the rest, connecting its history with the origin of the 
world, and through a gradual succession of temporal and spir- 
itual evolutions and of necessary and casual events, carrying it 
forward to the remotest ages of eternity." 4 

How closely are the Old and New Testaments connected 
with each other, so that it is impossible to tear them asunder ! 
" Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming 
of the great and dreadful day of the Lord," is the promise with 
which the Old Testament concludes ; 5 and with the account of 
how this same Elijah came and preached repentance the New 
Testament begins. 6 As the light shines dimly at the dawn, 
and then the morning star appears^ and then at last comes the 
perfect day, so likewise is it with that long series of divine 

1 Rom. xv. 4. 2 Ps. cxix. 18. 3 Rev. xxi. 2 ; xxii. 5. 

4 Goethe. 5 Mai. iv. 5. 6 Matt. iii. 2 ; xi. 14 ; xvii. 11. 



the Law and the Prophets. 95 

messengers of whom it is written, — " God, who at sundry times 
and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by 
the prophets, hath in these last days spoken unto us by His 
Son." 1 

The Lord has " fulfilled the law and the prophets." Even 
the Old Testament itself is a fulfilment. There are two voices 
in every human breast, the voice of conscience and the voice of 
desire, and both of these it has fulfilled, and given to them a 
clear utterance. Although in characters indistinct, a divine 
law 2 stands written in every breast of man. That law has now 
been written clearly and unmistakably upon stone and parch- 
ment, that we may no longer deny its existence to ourselves. 
It says, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and 
with all thy soul, and with all thy might ; and likewise, Thou 
shalt love thy neighbour as thyself? And is not this the sum 
and substance of all commandments which can possibly be 
delivered to man, as indeed our Lord showed when in these 
two He comprised the whole law ? 4 But along with the voice 
which tells us what we ought to be, yet what we are not, there 
is also another which makes itself heard in every human heart, 
and which affords us a glimmer of hope that our trespasses 
shall not separate us for ever from our God, and that we shall 
at least one day become what we ought to be. This boding 
voice of desire, which, though feeble and confused, resounds 
through the successive generations of our race, has also met its 
fulfilment in the Old Testament. There, there are voices which 
clearly and unmistakably speak of the time when " there shall 
be afowttain open to the inhabitants of Jerusalem for sin and for 
uncleanness " 5 — of a time when of the city of God upon earth 
it shall be said, " Thy people shall be all righteous : they shall 
inherit the land for ever, the branch of my planting, the work of 
my hands, that 1 may be glorified?' 6 But the law and prophecy 
of the Old Testament are themselves only shadows of the good 
things to come, of which the substance is Christ. 7 It was in 

1 Heb. i. 1. 2 Rom. ii. 15. 3 Deut. vi. 5 ; Lev. xix. 18. 

4 Mark, xii. 29-31. 5 Zech. xiii. 1. 6 Isa. lx. 21. 7 Heb. x. i. 



g6 18. I am not come to destroy 

Him, our Saviour, that the fountain for sin and uncleanness was 
opened. It was from His mouth that the prophecy came, 
" Where I am" — and we may be allowed to subjoin, such as I 
am — " there " and such " also shall my servant be." And ever 
since we obtained this hope, even the law is no longer a 
shadow for us who are Christians. It has been quickened 
into life. For now we can address each other in the words of 
John and say, " Little children let us love Him, for He first 
loved us j" and wherever such a love as this is felt, there the 
law no longer stands inscribed upon the table of stone — there 
it is written by the Holy Ghost upon the hearts of men, as the 
voice of prophecy promised that it should one day be. Hear 
the words : " I will make a new covenant, not according to 
the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that 
I took them by the hand, to bring them out of the land of 
Egypt ; which my covenant they brake, although I was an hus- 
band unto them, saith the Lord : but this shall be the covenant 
that I will make with the house of Israel ; After those days, 
saith the Lord, I will put my law in their inward parts, and 
write it in their hearts ; and will be their God, and they shall 
be my people." 1 

The prophecies, however, are by no means the only part of 
the Old Testament in which the shadows of the good things to 
come have been enshrined. In point of fact, the people of 
God, with the whole of their religious rites, and even the events 
of their history, constitute an adumbration of future blessings 
and of future times. The utterances of the prophets appear 
merely as bright spots, in which the spirit which pervades the 
whole of that ancient economy concentrates its power and 
energies more clearly into view. " Ye shall be unto me a 
kingdom of priests and an holy nation : " is not that a descrip- 
tion of the " spiritual Israel " whom Christ in the New Testa- 
ment has made a royal priesthood ? 2 And as to their rites of 
worship, oh, when it is given to any of us to catch a glimpse 
of the awful mysteries which are hidden in them, how do we 
1 Jer. xxxi. 31-33. 2 Gal. vi. 16; 1 Pet. ii. 9; Rev. v. 10. 



the Law and the Prophets. 97 

then exclaim with David, " One thing have I desired of the 
Lord, that will I seek after ; that I may dwell in the house of 
the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the 
Lord, and to inquire in His temple " ! 1 

In the Temple there was the fore- court of the tabernacle for 
the people, typifying those who outwardly belong to the holy 
nation, but who have not yet become priestly souls, qualified 
to offer acceptable sacrifices to God. There was next the 
holy place, into which the priests alone were admitted, pre- 
figuring those who, like priests, make their lives a continual 
act of- religious worship, and present to the Lord the spiritual 
oblations with which He is well pleased. 2 There was then 
the holiest of all, from which even the priests were debarred, 
and into which only the high priest was permitted to enter, 
and he only once a-year, prefiguring the Church made perfect 
— that Church which is hereafter to see what here on earth 
was the object of its faith; just as in the Apocalypse the eyes 
of the seer behold the temple of God opened in heaven — 
that true holy of holies — and in it the ark of His testament. 3 
In the fore-court stood the laver, in which it behoved the 
priests to wash their hands and feet before they entered the 
holy place; also the altar of burnt-offering, on which were 
presented the sacrifices foreshadowing the great oblation of 
Christ. In the holy place was set the table with the twelve 
loaves of showbread — the offering made by Israel to the Lord, 
and typifying the good works with which He is well pleased. 
There, also, stood the golden candlestick with the seven lamps 
to give light to the apartment, from which all light from with- 
out was excluded, and typifying the divine Word, by whose light 
priestly souls are guided on their way. Finally, in the holy place 
there was likewise the altar of incense, whose fragrant smoke as- 
cended to heaven, and was a figure of the prayers of the saints. 4 
In the awful darkness of the most holy place stood the ark of 
the covenant, over which the presence of the Lord was en- 

1 Psalm xxvii. 4, 2 1 Peter ii. 5. 

3 Rev. xi. 19. 4 Psalm cxli. 2 ; Rev. viii. 4. 

G 



98 1 8. I am not come to destroy the Law, &c. 

throned and gave forth its oracles, and in it the sacred chest 
containing the law, upon which the covenant of the Lord with 
His people was founded — the chest being for that reason called 
the ark of the covenant, or of the testimony of God, to signify that 
the connection of the Lord with His people rests upon the eter- 
nal pillars of the law and its observance. Above it, made of pure 
and massive gold, was the lid of the mercy-seat overshadowed by 
the wings of the cherubim, whose fourfold face of a lion, an ox, 
an eagle, and a man — severally emblematical of the qualities of 
majesty, strength, freedom, and intelligence in the creatures — 
pictured forth the creation itself; while above them brooded the 
mysterious presence of the Lord of hosts — the whole forming a 
representation of the reign of the invisible Jehovah over all that 
He has made, and of which the foundations are grace and law. 
We have to mention, also, those manifold sacrifices ordained 
for all sorts of transgression — the thank-offerings — the praises 
— and the sin offerings- — all intended to supplement what is 
lacking in our poor gratitude, praises, and affection, and to take 
away the guilt of sin. What are they, with their perpetual 
repetitions, but a weak adumbration of that perfect sacrifice 
which has been offered by the High Priest of the New Testa- 
ment, who could say, " Lo, I come to do Thy will, O God! ' n 
for that is the sacrifice which has given to these shadowy em- 
blems their perfect truth. 

Yes, it is a sacred allegory which speaks to me from all the 
institutions and narratives of the Old Testament, and by which 
I also ought to be drawn towards Him who has brought into 
the world the substance of the good things which were to come. 
How it teaches me to adore the preceptive grace of God, who 
was pleased in this manner to train and prepare mankind for 
the revelation of the mystery which in the silence of His bosom 
had been kept secret 2 since the world began ! How I learn 
from it to hope that the God who so faithfully reared His child 
Israel until the time came for taking the bandage from his 
eyes, will also train me, feeding me with milk so long as I am 
1 Heb. x. 9. 2 Rom. xvi. 25. 



ig. Lord, Thy Thoughts are very deep. 99 

still a babe and until I am fit for stronger meat, even that 
perfect word of righteousness ! 1 Go with me, Thou God 
of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob ! Open mine eyes, and teach 
me to see wondrous things out of the law. 



19. 

<& Horto, &|J2 5Tfjougfjts are forg tieep. 

So vast the fabric, that our feeble eyes 
Attempt in vain to grasp its awful size-; 
Let faith then still forebode, the Eternal Light 
At last will show its grandeur to the sight. 

2 Timothy, hi. 16. "All Scripture is given by inspiration of 
God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for cor- 
rection, for instruction in righteousness." 

Psalm xcii. 5, 6. " O Lord, how great are Thy words ! 2 
and Thy thoughts are very deep. A brutish man knoweth 
not; neither doth a fool understand this." 

Psalm xxv. 14. " The secret of the Lord is with them that 
fear Him." 

1 Cor. xiii. 12. " Now we see through a glass darkly." 

I CONSIDER it a proof of great proficiency in the art of 
prayer, if the suppliant have learned to prefer using the 
prayer of our Lord before every other; and if he be con- 
vinced that it is scarcely possible to conceive any different 
form in which a Christian could so perfectly comprise all that 
he has in his heart to say to the eternal God. What is true of 
this small portion of the divine Word may, with equal truth be 
affirmed of the whole ; and blessed indeed is the Christian who 
has advanced so far as to find more edification in the sacred 

1 Heb. v. 13. 2 Luther's vers. 



ioo ig. Lord, Thy Thoughts are very deep. 

Scriptures than in all other writings besides. How great the 
power of the Holy Spirit which reigns in it, is evident from the 
fact, that while to the eye of man the Book appears so homely 
in comparison with many others, and although history shows 
that, in the form in which we now possess it, it was almost 
casually put together, the effects it produces upon the human 
mind are so astonishingly great. 

It is quite true that in the Scriptures, just as in the manger 
at Bethlehem, Christ the Lord is wrapped in poor and un- 
sightly swaddling-clothes, and yet hither, from both east and 
west, have the wise men been constrained to come, and have 
prostrated themselves before the crib and presented their gifts. 
When first approached, how uncouth all about the Book appears 
from the beginning to the end ! and yet, there can the soul 
make for itself a home, and feel happier in it than in all the 
other books in the world. // is owing to the dark places in our 
hearts that we find so many places in the Bible dark. Only let 
Christ wax greater and stronger within us, and forthwith He 
becomes greater and more glorious also in His Word. No 
experienced Christian will refuse to testify that he has dis- 
covered in the Bible a fountain which it is impossible to ex- 
haust, according, as Luther so pleasantly says, — " For a long 
time past I have read through the Bible twice every year ; 
and figuring it as a great and widespread tree, and all its 
words as twigs and branches, I may say that I have knocked 
at every one of them inquiring what grew on it, and how much 
it could produce, and never have I failed to beat down more 
or less fruit." 

If, then, good reader, you desire to profit by the study of 
the sacred Scriptures, be not offended to find along with what 
is clear, not a little of which the meaning is still kept in reserve. 
Reflect that, although the heavenly Father certainly did think 
of your case when He caused the Book to be written for all the 
millions who dwell upon the earth, and intended that you 
too should find in it light and food, the herb to heal and the 
rod to correct thee, He still at the same time thought equally 



ig. Lord, Thy Thoughts are very deep. 101 

of all His other children. The consequence is, as you may 
easily infer, that many things which are clear to them will be 
obscure to you, and that this field of the divine Word will 
yield its increase at one season, and that field at another. For 
example, there are passages in the Word which were written 
specially for the men of learning who are seeking for salvation; 
in other passages, the divine Wisdom had kings in view ; and 
there are others, again, which provide for little children. In 
some of its sayings are scattered the seeds from which deep 
and lofty thoughts were to spring up and to shine like stars, 
and be guides to human knowledge. Others, again, were to 
produce great and worthy achieveme7its ; while others still were 
to generate noble arts. Of its beautiful flowers, some have ex- 
haled their fragrance in the East, and some only in the West. 
Some of them regaled the middle ages, and others are specially 
salutary for us. Oh how great must have been the skill, and how 
immense the resources, of the host who could furnish so goodly 
a table for such a multitude of guests, whose wants were so 
diverse ! It may well be that some of the dishes do not quite 
suit my taste ; but what then ? Would it be either respectful 
to the entertainer, or considerate towards those who sit at table 
with me, were I to find fault ? What I cannot relish, I allow 
to pass ; and this may well be done when there is such abund- 
ance offered. And who knows what may still happen ? Time 
has not yet run its whole course. I doubt not that in His 
affluent Word the Lord has still in reserve for me many a 
dainty of which I at present have no conception, but which I 
shall enjoy hereafter, when, as the Scriptures express it, " my 
senses, by reason of use, shall have been exercised to discern 
both good and evil." 1 

The Saviour tells His disciples, " I have yet many things to 
say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now. Howbeit when 
He, the Spirit of truth, is come, He will guide you into all 
truth." 2 And even so there is also much still in reserve for 
me in His holy Word which at present I cannot bear, and 

1 Heb. v. 14. 2 John, xvi. 12, 13. 



102 19. Lord, Thy Thoughts are very deep. 

which consequently I do not relish. Oh, then, for patience 
and humility ! 

Moreover, in all banquets it is the business of the cook to 
give the proper seasoning to the dishes ; and here the cook is 
Hunger, and for skill in his art the world has long praised him. 
But not less does he excel as a Teacher ; for to the humblest 
peasant he will expound the Gospel of St John, over which 
learned divines fatigue their brain, and will make it so intelli- 
gible, and accompany it with so many pleasing comments, that 
it inspires a heartfelt joy. This is the teacher whom the 
Saviour Himself so highly commended when he said, u Blessed 
are they that hunger" 1 By these remarks I do not intend to 
rob the learned men who interpret Scripture either of their 
livelihood or their reputation. Oh no ; I am rather of opinion 
that many pious Christians are not sufficiently sensible how 
great the boon which has been vouchsafed by God to the 
Church in the beautiful commentaries on Scripture which the 
learned have written ; and that these persons fall into a great 
mistake who attempt to descend the shaft of the divine Word 
with only the little lamp which the Holy Spirit has lit for them- 
selves. The thing is wrong. It is the Holy Spirit's office to 
kindle the light by which we understand the Word ; and the 
Holy Spirit belongs to no single member, but to the whole body 
of the Church; and therefore no member ought to disparage the 
gifts which have at all times been conferred upon learned men 
and ministers, seeing it is written that " the manifestation of 
His Spirit is given to every man for the profit of all." 2 Rather 
ought a humble-minded Christian to praise God that, with the 
help afforded him by the writings of the pious commentators 
of all ages, he can, as it were, enter upon the journey into the 
promised land, by which I mean the land of holy Scripture, in 
the company of so many pious and experienced guides. Do 
I not in this manner appropriate as my own the light which 
the Lord's Spirit has in all ages vouchsafed to help the Church 
to understand His Word ? 

1 Luke, vi. 2t. 2 i Cor. xii. 7— Luther's vers. 



ig. O Lord, Thy Thoughts are very deep. 103 

From the fact that it is the Spirit alone who teaches us to 
understand the holy Scriptures, I deduce another doctrine — 
viz., that in reading them the true meaning can never be ob- 
tained by pecking at the letters. There was a time when I too, 
from strictly conscientious feelings, frequently plagued myself 
to construe this and that expression in the most literal sense, 
however harsh it sounded, and yet I could not but be aware 
that to that sense, other passages, and especially the general 
spirit of the Word, were contrary. This cost me great labour 
and anxiety ; for well I knew that many lay stress upon the 
spirit only as a pretext for introducing their own spirit into the 
Word of God ; and that when the' doctrine or precept of any 
passage is too hard for them, they forthwith allege the spirit in 
order to expunge so much of the meaning as does not suit their 
taste. For, as Luther says, "Man's reason flutters and flits 
about the letter of the divine Word, until it forces it into a 
line with itself; which is just, in other words, to set the sun- 
dial right by the clock in one's chamber." If, however, it so 
be that only the Spirit of God can teach us to interpret His 
Word, no labouring with the letter can ever open the door of 
comprehension ; and if a reader really desire to guard against 
the haughty delusions of human reason, he will find nothing so 
effectual as learning to discriminate correctly between the Spirit 
of God and the spirit of man. I therefore believe, that just as 
the meaning of a human author in any passage of his book can 
only be discovered by attending to what is his meaning in 
general — and just as the function of any single member in an 
organised body can only be ascertained by endeavouring to 
infer it correctly from the structure of the whole, — so likewise 
the true sense of a passage of Scripture becomes evident to 
the pious reader only in as far as he diligently compares and 
adjusts it to all the rest. Luther said of his own translations 
" that he preferred the plain sense to the litigious letter." It 
is true that scrupulous minds have often taken alarm at the 
exercise of this mental freedom with the Word, as if to depart 
in the very slightest from the letter were to misconstrue and 



104 ig. Lord, Thy Thoughts are very deep. 

pervert it. Now, let no man dare for his life to wrest the Word 
of God. Even of that of an earthly monarch, the Emperor 
Conrad observed, it is not decent to twist or misinterpret an 
emperor's word. On the other hand, however, the chief of 
the apostles has averred that " the letter killeth, but the spirit 
giveth life." 1 Tell me, ye who strain and force the letter, with 
however good intention you may do it, whether you recollect 
the manifold testimonies borne by history to the fact that holy 
Scripture has, like a mother's breast when too strongly pressed, 
emitted blood instead of milk ? Heaven knows what monstrous 
fanaticism and dreadful bloodshed have issued out of that 
single text of the apostle when expounded by the flesh, — 
" Stand fast in the liberty wherewith Christ has made us free ;" 2 
or from the saying of our Lord Himself, " Ye shall know the 
truth, and the truth shall make you free" I 2, For beside these 
texts, many have wholly forgotten what is elsewhere averred : 
" Use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh ; " 4 and again, 
" As free and not using your liberty for a cloak of malicious- 
ness, but as the servants of God;" 5 and once more, "All 
things are lawful unto me, but all things are not expedient"* 
When the apostle exhorts, " Children, obey your parents in all 
things" 7 might not the flesh here twist the letter to the effect 
that children ought to obey their parents even in doing what is 
wicked and ungodly? Our Lord said, "When thou makest a 
dinner or a supper, call not thy friends nor thy brethren, neither 
thy kinsmen nor thy rich neighbours ; . . . but when thou 
makest a feast, call the poor, the maimed, the lame, the blind, 
and thou shalt be blessed ; " 8 and might not the flesh, laying a 
rough hand upon the letter, extort from it that we ought never 
to invite our relatives to dinner? The Lord hath also said, 
" Sell that ye have, and give alms." 9 And here, too, might 
the flesh strain the words to import that no Christian ought to 
possess private property ; whereas numerous passages of Scrip- 

1 2 Cor. iii. 6. 2 Gal. v. i. 3 John, viii. 32. 

4 Gal. v. 13. 5 1 Pet. ii. 16. 6 1 Cor. vi. 12. 

7 Col. iii. 20. 8 Luke, xiv. 12, 13. 9 Luke, xii. 33. 



19- Lord, Thy Thoughts are very deep. 105 

ture imply the very opposite of all such carnal misconstruc- 
tions. You see, then, that in this case there is no help save in 
seeking humbly to understand the Spirit of the Lord from the 
whole compass of sacred Scripture, in order clearly to appre- 
hend the meaning of this or that particular passage. 

To an unenlightened eye, the New Testament may indeed 
appear a very unsightly fabric, in the erection of which the 
Architect has committed great mistakes. He might, for ex- 
ample, have made the gable more straight, and raised story 
above story in a nobler style, and here and there altered for 
the better the position of a window or a door. In the end, 
however, we come to see that the architecture of the Word of 
God is of a piece with that of the whole world, and are con- 
strained to give Him the glory, and confess here too, " Thou 
hast ordered all things by measure, number, and weight." As 
the history of our Lord constitutes the basis of our religion, to 
it has been assigned the foremost place among the writings of 
the New Testament, in order that with it every man may begin, 
and so lay a foundation for his faith. After this, when by 
means of the four Gospels the inquirer has become acquainted 
with the Head, the Acts of the Apostles instruct him how the 
bond that connects the Head with the body and its members 
was originally formed. He is then taught by the apostolical 
epistles the nature of faith, charity, and hope, by which the 
members of the primitive Church were nourished and upheld ; 
until finally, in the Apocalypse of St John, he looks forward to 
the Church's victory through all successive ages up to the end. 

Again, how wisely and graciously it has likewise been pro- 
vided that the one great theme of the Gospel has reached us 
in a way to make the single ray of light be refracted into a 
variety of colours in order to show how rich it is, and to set 
open, as it were, several doors, by which the inquirer for sal- 
vation may find admission into the palace of truth ! No doubt, 
when human reason begins to burrow, it is apt to fancy that 
in this matter it could have put God upon a better plan. 
Above all, the thought occurs whether it might not have been 



io6 19. O Lord, Thy Thoughts are very deep. 

more desirable and more conducive to general good, if, instead 
of the one great theme of Scripture being repeated under so 
manifold variations — of which the effect has been to stir up a 
world of strife — God had been pleased to give forth a single 
well-constructed system of faith, — such, for example, as a cate- 
chism of Christian doctrine drawn up by the holy apostles. 
But oh, how great would have been the loss, if in place of the 
narratives and epistles, which are, as it were, segments cut out 
of the actual life of the early Church, the Church had received 
a rule of faith and morals, in all points finished to its hand ! 
What a loss in power, fulness, and multiformity must have 
been sustained if the new song had been sung only by one 
voice, and always in the same key ! The number and variety 
of the voices that resound in the New Testament has had its 
echo through all ages of the Church's history. 

What here we find comprised in narrow bounds, 
A concert seems of well-accorded sounds, 
Striving, now mingled, now disjoined, which can 
Yield sweetest praise to Jesus, God and Man. 
Here low they peal like muttering thunder, there 
Like trumpets loud, which for the Judge prepare ; 
Now trills, as if from well-toned flutes, the song, 
Now stately treads like choral chant along : 
The pomp of sound that thus enfolds its glory, 
Has sent an echo through the world's long story. 

Yes, the war-shout from Paul's stout breast that rings, 
Has roused a thousand warriors to the field ; 
Nor less the notes from John's melodious strings, 
With peaceful echo, hearts unnumbered thrilled. 
How bright the fire from Peter s bosom flames 
In ardent souls which the keen spark has caught ! 
While the disciples from the school of James 
Their hallowed offerings to the shrine have'brought ; 
It is the self-same theme, with variations, 
That sounds incessant through man's generations. 

We are told that heavenly Wisdom constructed the great 
fabric of the world by " measure, number, and weight." If, 
however, we attempt to work her calculations, we prove 
wretched blunderers. At the outset, indeed, we promise our- 



19. O Lord, Thy Thotights are very deep. 107 

selves great success ; but it happens to us here as Luther tells 
us is the case with jurists : "A first-year's student of law fancies 
himself quite a Justinian, and wiser than the whole faculty of 
doctors ; the second year, he falls down to the doctor's level ; 
the third, he becomes a licentiate; the fourth, a Bachelor; 
and in the fifth, he is a humble student once more." This is 
exactly what occurs to him who attempts to work the calcula- 
tions of " measure, number, and weight " made by divine Wis- 
dom for the beautiful fabric which it has constructed for us in 
the sacred Scriptures. The upshot always is, that we confess, 
as the wise Socrates did of the writings of a great philosopher, 
"As much as 1 ' imder stand is so admirable, that I conclude that 
the part I do not understand must be the same" 

The variety, however, which reigns in the fair garden of 
God's holy Word, so far as we can yet understand it, is really 
something wonderful and glorious. Most frequently the in- 
quirer commences with the Gospel of John. Now that is 
actually a more difficult study than the other Gospels. At the 
same time, it is not by any insight into the meaning of it that 
souls are allured and attracted. Rather is it at first merely like 
a charming music, that on a fair summer's evening is wafted to 
us from beyond a river. The inquirer's heart begins gently to 
flutter and swell, so that he would fain ask of it, "What ails 
thee?" for he does not himself know. This is the way by 
which, in these days of ours, and in far the most numerous 
instances, souls are brought to Christ. Their case is precisely 
similar to that of the Samaritan woman. She too said to the 
Saviour, " Sir, give me this water, that I thirst not ;" and asked 
it before she was rightly aware of what he had been speaking. 1 
Light, love, life, — these are the tones which softly and gently 
float from beyond the 'stream, and hover and undulate around 
the unpeaceful heart. We trace in them the breath of the 
other world. 

In this way the inquirer is brought to the feet of Jesus, and 
there he soon learns to see that these tones were but sweet 

1 John, iv. 15. 



io8 19. O Lord, Thy Thoughts are very deep. 

lures intended merely to bring the child into school. Once in 
school, however, he must set himself to learn. It is no longer 
with sounds that he has to do, but with fruits ; and the more 
he becomes sensible of this, the more do the first three Gospels 
unfold themselves to him. By these we are informed what we 
must renounce in order to receive; and so advance to the foot 
of the New Testament Sinai, where we learn the strict disci- 
pline that reigns in the family of God. Embodied in a living 
form, this is shown in the Acts of the Apostles, which is an ex- 
cellent and precious book, and one which Christians would 
find it profitable to study far more than they do. It consti- 
tutes the great ostensible attestation of the fact, that the Lord 
has kept His promise, — " I will not leave you comfortless ; 1 
I will come to you." 2 We here see how, after putting off His 
earthly body, He clothed Himself in the far greater body of the 
Church. Here we find the proof, that although He has gone 
to heaven, and now sits on the right hand of God, He, not- 
withstanding, still continues to be present with His members 
here on earth. At this stage we begin rightly to understand 
what the swelling and fluttering of the heart meant, when at the 
first we were lured by the love-tones of St John ; and are now 
prepared to listen to Paul when preaching the righteousness 
which is of faith. This, in my opinion, is the highest class in 
the school of Christ, and there we are set to the study of James 
as well as of Paul. For when we have obtained an insight into 
the righteousness which is of free grace, it is time we should be 
made acquainted with the phantom shape of faith, and put its 
vigour to the test by the work of love. Hand in hand with 
James goes Peter, who teaches us that the " chosen generation, 
the royal priesthood, the holy nation, and peculiar people, 
ought to show forth the praises 3 of Him who hath called them 
out of darkness into His marvellous light." 4 Moreover, if to 
any one has been vouchsafed the special gift of intelligence, he 
still continues to knock, and finds disclosed in the writings of 

1 In the ox\g., for lnv " , 2 John, xiv. 18. 

3 Orig., virtues. 4 1 Pet. ii. 9. 



19. Lord, Thy Thoughts are very deep. 109 

St Paul the meaning of the motto which stands as superscrip- 
tion upon the history of the world, " Of Him, and through Him, 
and to Him, are all things ;" 1 or unsealed in those of St John 
the mystery of the Godhead, " In the beginning was the Word." 
Supposing the reader, however, to be one of the chosen num- 
ber whom the Lord counts worthy to have a special word 
whispered in their ear, then perchance may he try his hand 
whether it will not be given to him to read a few lines of the 
book with the seven seals — that book of the world's history 
which no one was found worthy to open, save He of whom 
was sung the new song, " Thou art worthy to take the book, 
and to open the seals thereof: for Thou wast slain, and hast 
redeemed us to God by Thy blood out of every kindred, and 
tongue, and people, and nation ; and hast made us unto our 
God kings and priests : and we shall reign on the earth." 2 

O heavenly Wisdom, in deep humility I implore of Thee, 
open Thou mine eyes, that I may see wondrous things out of 
Thy law. So much have I already experienced of the bless- 
ing of Thy grace, that with full conviction I can say, "To 
whom shall I go but unto Thee? Thou hast the words of 
eternal life;" and yet, O Lord, many places in Thy Word are 
still dark to me. What I thirst for is to see Thee wholly in 
Thy light ; and this my thirst is the thirst of faith, not of doubt. 
I am fully convinced that Thy darknesses are light, and that 
Thou wilt one day quench my thirst. Meanwhile, help me 
always to read Thy W r ord with a truly undistracted mind, and 
a reverent and humble heart, as the handwriting of a king 
ought ever to be read. In my approaches to Thee, cleanse 
my mind from all vain and fleshly thoughts, that I may not be 
listening to myself when I imagine that I am listening to Thee, 
and that my heart may reflect Thy divine thoughts unadulter- 
ated and pure. And inasmuch, O holy God, as Thy light is 
a light of life, grant me Thine aid, that all the light which 
beams into me out of Thy Word, may transform and purify 
me, and become in me a living poAver. 

1 Rom. xi. 36. 2 Rev. v. 9, 10. 



HO 20. Thou understandest my 

20. 

SEfjou untorstantet mg &{joua;f)t afar 0ft 

God sees me through and throtigh ; 

Oh, tell me where to hide ! 
His eye's aflame of fire, 

Who ca?i its glance abide ? 

My child, if thus His eye 

The soul within thee scare, 
Hasten into His heart, 

And find a refuge there. 

Psalm cxxxix. 1-12. " Lord, Thou hast searched me, 
and known me. Thou knowest my downsitting and 
mine uprising, Thou understandest my thought afar off. 
Thou compassest my path and my lying down, and art 
acquainted with all my ways. For there is not a word in 
my tongue, but, lo, O Lord, Thou knowest it altogether. 
Thou hast beset me behind and before, and laid Thine 
hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me ; 
it is high, I cannot attain unto it. Whither shall I go 
from Thy Spirit ? or whither shall I flee from Thy pre- 
sence ? If I ascend up into heaven, Thou art there : if I 
make my bed in hell, behold, Thou art there. If I take 
the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts 
of the sea ; even there shall Thy hand lead me, and Thy 
right hand shall hold me. If I say, Surely the darkness 
shall cover me ; even the night shall be light about me. 
Yea, the darkness hideth not from Thee ; but the night 
shineth as the day : the darkness and the light are both 
alike to Thee." 

O THOUGHT freezing with terror the bones and the mar- 
row ! O thought which also thrills with ecstasy the hu* 
man heart! — Of all that I am, and of all that I do, there is nothing 



afar off. 1 1 1 

which is not known to my God. Is it possible that a man who 
really believes in the existence of the Divine Being can bear this 
thought upon his mind without yielding entirely to its dominion^ 
and giving it the control and government of his every inward 
motion and every outward act ? It is a dreadful thing when 
the irreligious man, who will have nothing to do with God, 
revolts against the eye that seeth in secret, and looks upon 
faith as folly. And yet this is more easily understood than 
that a man can affirm his belief in a God who understands his 
thought afar off, and knows the word upon his tongue before 
it is uttered, and can yet, at the same time, continue inert. 
It is just a new instance showing the immeasurable difference 
between one kind of faith and another. For what is it that 
here happens to us ? Shall I say that we do not really believe 
at all, or at least not firmly, what our mouth avers ? We are 
told of the faith of Moses " that he endured as seeing Him 
who is invisible." 1 It appears, then, that faith is a mental eye, 
by means of which we can see : and accordingly, if I did believe 
in the Omniscient, would I not every moment likewise see Him, 
as if through a rent in the heavens ; and would not His eye 
also meet mine ? Would I not then perform my earthly pil- 
grimage in His company and under His inspection ? And in 
the gaze of such an eye, how holy would my life become ! How 
would they who are without the pardon of their sins dissolve 
like wax, and how would they who have received forgiveness 
become little and abased — oh how unspeakably little and 
abased ! The firm conviction that a human eye, especially 
that of some great man, observed every step of my life, that 
the ear of some holy character listened to every word of my 
mouth, would exercise a wonderful power over my conduct. 
What, then, if it be the eye of God, what if it be the ear of God, 
that are my perpetual witnesses ? And if I have no experience 
of such a power, must I say that I do not believe ? 

I am not sure that I should say that ; I have, in fact, no 
doubt that I do believe. The truth rather is, that I do not 

1 Heb. xi. 27. 



112 20. Thou under standest my 

think about it. But then, if I really believed it, would it not 
also be the subject of thought to me ? Here, however, it may- 
be asked, Has a man, whose attention is engrossed by the avo- 
cations of life, time to retain all such pious thoughts in his 
mind? This is a question which I have long pondered, and 
I now see how the matter stands. We can be mindful of a 
thing without having defined and particular thoughts about it. 
It is with the understanding that we think ; but thoughts can 
also be wrapped up in the feelings, and that too is being mind- 
ful. Is it not in our feelings that we continually bear about 
with us the consciousness of all that we are, and of the circum- 
stances in which we happen to be placed, so that it even 
determines us how to act ? If faith in God had only become 
flesh and blood within me — if it had permeated my inmost 
being as the vein of gold does the metals, or the sunbeam the 
water to which it gives warmth and transparency — would I not 
then be every moment as mindful of my God as I am of my- 
self? I would be so; and when faith in that eye which under- 
stands our thoughts afar off, and sifts us through and through, 
does not accompany us in all our ways, this is only a sign that 
we do not yet properly believe in it. 

How often a man flies with what he is doing from the eye of his 
fellow-men, and breathes freely the moment he is beyond their 
reach ! but, alas ! never thinks that there is an eye from which 
he cannot fly, and that that is the eye of his fudge. As he can 
never escape from the wide canopy of heaven that is over him, 
however long he may run, as little can he run anywhere away 
from the omniscient God. O thou great Being, whom I can- 
not see, but who art so near to me, let the thought of Thee 
teach me first of all to be truthful in word and deed ! It is 
quite certain that we are all much worse than we fancy our- 
selves to be. Our self-love is too great to admit of our having 
any doubt upon the point. We have so strong an inclination 
to exhibit our motives to other men in too favourable a light, 
that it would be remarkable if the propensity to falsehood did 
not also manifest itself in our interviews with God. Where is 



Thought afar off. 113 

the man who has not at least occasionally put on a mask in 
his intercourse with his fellow-men ? Nay, are there not many 
who actually never put it off ? And thus they acquire the 
habit of taking it along with them into the presence of God. O 
Eye that hates all guile and falsehood, let me at least be 
truthful when I come before Thee ! Thou hast put our sen- 
tence into our own hands, and if we only pronounce it upon 
ourselves, there is hope for us ; but if we leave it for Thee to 
pronounce, there is none. As often as I look up to Thee, 
O holy Eye of God, I feel as if a heavenly voice came down 
ink) my conscience, and preached to me that, as Thy divine 
commandment requires, I ought instantly and fully and for 
ever to renounce all sin, and yield entire and unconditional 
obedience to Thee. How, then, could I possibly imagine my- 
self in a fit condition to appear before Thee in the white robes 
of righteousness ? How could I stand in Thy sight without a 
blush ? When Christ looked upon Peter after his fall, oh what 
a look it was ! " Peter went out and wept bitterly." 1 Holy 
Eye of God, so look upon me when I come into Thy presence, 
that I too may there weep such tears as his. 

Especially disclose to me the impurity of my motives. I 
see too plainly that often when my actions seem to be prompted 
by the very best of these, they are but some new form of selfish- 
ness in disguise. Oh how happy shall I be, and how I shall 
adore and praise Thee in the other world, if I ever advance so 
far as to see that the love of Thee reigns in my heart above all 
other loves, and to see this as clearly and distinctly as I now 
see that I love myself more than everything else in the world, 
and even more than God ! 

And yet methinks I may venture to say that I do love Thee. 
The true and unfeigned desire I feel— though I should perish 
in the effort — to be quit of the love of myself and filled with 
the love of Thee, attests to me the fact. Even the disciple 
who denied Thee ventured to say, " Lord, Thou knowest all 
things. Thou knowest that I love Thee." And in spite of my 
1 Luke, xxii. 62. 
H 



H4 20 - Thou tinders -fanciest my 

denials, shall I not venture to say it too? O Thou who 
besettest me behind and before, and art acquainted with all 
my ways, is it not the fact that among the many propensities 
of my nature which revolt against Thy holy will, Thou never- 
theless findest a bent of affection towards Thee, — a little flame 
which has been kindled by the Spirit ? It is not that, to be 
sure, on which I place my hope. No, my hope rests on quite 
another ground. " The foundation on which I build is Jesus 
Christ my Lord." That is my cordial, my elixir of life, when 
I look at my Judge's eye and my bones begin to quake and 
my heart to melt. If I now tremble at the thought of the 
wondrous fellowship which subsists between Thy Spirit and 
my own, it is no longer the mere trembling of terror; rather 
is it the trembling of humble ecstasy, that Thou, whom the 
heaven of heavens cannot contain, condescendest to approach 
so closely to the heart of man, all sinful though it be, and 
there, if it will but give Thee leave, disclosest to it its guilt ; 
nor that alone, but also forgivest it. I know that the eye of 
my Judge is also the eye of my Father; why then should I 
quake to think that it sees me through and through? At that 
thought he only needs to quake who will have nothing to do 
with Thee because he will not surrender himself to Thy sway. 
It is a case to which the words of Sirach apply : " As Thy 
ways are plain to the holy, so are they stumbling-blocks to the 
wicked." 1 O terrible thought for the ungodly man ! that 
while he refuses to know anything of Thee, Thou knowest all 
about him. Attempting to fly from Thy presence, he takes 
Thee with him wherever he goes. His eye would fain elude 
Thine, and Thine eye catches his at every turn. O dreadful 
condition of the man who tries to tear himself out of the hands 
of God, but of whom God will not quit His hold I Sweet as 
the light of the sun is Thy presence to those who seek Thee, 
but verily to them that fly from Thee it is a consuming fire. 

Verses 13-18. " For Thou hast possessed my reins : Thou 
hast covered me in my mother's womb. I will praise 

1 Ecclus. xxxix. 24. 



Thought afar off. 115 

Thee ; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made : mar- 
vellous are Thy works ; and that my soul knoweth right 
well. My substance was not hid from Thee, when I was 
made in secret, and curiously wrought in the lowest parts 
of the earth. 1 Thine eyes did see my substance, yet 
being 'imperfect ; and in Thy book all my members were 
written, which in continuance were fashioned, when as yet 
there was none of them. How precious also are Thy 
thoughts unto me, O God ! how great is the sum of them ! 
If I should count them, they are more in number than the 
sand : when I awake, I am still with Thee." 2 

Thou, O my God, seest me through and through, for by 
Thee I was made. I was the object of Thy thought before I 
existed, and in me Thou didst then behold a being destined 
to exist through all eternity. And if so, surely all that I now 
am must at every moment lie open to Thy view. Thou seest 
through both the past and the future of my history, and how 
can the present be concealed from Thee? Here, in the 
sphere of time, I grow up, and am becoming what I shall one 
day be. But Thou, Lord, in thine eternity already beholdest 
me matured. Other than this, human life has no fixed and 
solid basis. Were it not that all our days were from eternity 
comprehended in the hand and written in the book of our 
God, human life would be precarious and unstable, like the 
moonbeam that trembles on the rippling water. But, transi- 
tory and precarious though it be, it still is the quivering reflec- 
tion in the sphere of time of a tranquil eternity with God. 
And whoever believes it to be this, may even now, "amidst the 
tumult of this temporal state, pass his days in the tranquillity 
of the state which is to be everlasting. 

Yes, O my God, the thoughts that arise within me when my 
spirit sinks in the contemplation of Thy being, are indeed a 
great sum. I lose myself while I ponder them ; and when I 
again awake, I am still far from the goal. Out of every dark- 

1 I.e., in the obscurity of the womb, like as in the depths of the earth. 

2 I.e., though I lose myself in the contemplation of Thee, I never reach the 
end of it. 



1 1 6 21. 77^ Z^r^ dfo//z according to His will. 

ness there arises a light, but only to terminate in darkness 
again, from which new light is evolved ; and so on in perpetual 
vicissitude. The child who sat beside the fountain waiting 
till it should run dry, is an emblem of the human mind 
attempting to count Thy thoughts, O thou immeasurable One ! 
Well might I quail at the infinitude of Thy being, did I not 
know that it is also the infinitude of love and mercy. 

God is the fountain at which I drink, 

God is the ocean in which I sink. 

I gaze o'er the main, but no shore descry ; 

And helpless and feeble, alas ! am I. 

What then ! Would I measure the flood immense ? 

No ; losing of self all thought and sense, 

Undaunted the awful deep I brave, 

And sink and dissolve like a drop in the wave. 

Thy thought, like Thy measureless being, no line 

Can fathom, nor term nor bound confine. 

Yet feel I no dread, for I think with delight 

That Thy love is as vast and as infinite. 



21. 

Wqi ILortJ tetjj according to &v& MI. 

/ am so sad and care-oppressed ! 

My friend, I well believe 'tis true ; 
I should be quite as much distressed, 

Had I as many lords as you. 
Lightning and hail, and fire and storms, 
Cattle and neighbours, fowl and worms, 

Of monarchs what a train / 
For me I have one only Lord, 
And all that host fulfil His word, 
As body-guards the king obey ; 
And so I cast my cares away. 

Dan. iv. 34, 35. "And at the end of the days, I Nebuchad- 
nezzar lifted up mine eyes unto heaven, and mine under- 



21. The Lord doeth according to His will. 1 17 

standing returned unto me, and I blessed the Most High, 
and I praised and honoured Him that liveth for ever, 
whose dominion is an everlasting dominion, and His 
kingdom is from generation to generation : and all the 
inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing : and He 
doeth according to His will in the army of heaven, and 
among the inhabitants of the earth ; and none can stay 
His hand, or say unto Him, What doest Thou ? " 

SO spake the haughty monarch after he had experienced 
how heavy is the hand of Him who is the King of kings, 
and when his understanding returned to him. Alas ! that 
man, the frail child of clay, whom every gust of fortune drives 
from his place like the dust of which he was made, should need 
so violent a tempest to awake him to the sense of his impo- 
tence, and never discovers that all human works and devices 
hang upon threads which meet in a single hand, until that 
hand wields the sceptre in wrath. They set to work, calculate, 
consult, and dispose of all things at their pleasure, never 
dreaming that without the Amen from on high all they do 
signifies nothing, and that at any moment a voice from heaven 
may say, "Take counsel together, and it shall come to nought." 1 
It is true man cannot altogether hide from himself, and least 
of all they who possess the largest share of earthly power — I 
mean kings and generals — that to give checkmate and to be 
checkmated are not a matter of mere human skill ; for while, in 
a thousand instances, the most subtle devices are baffled, in 
how many more does that which they call chance decide the 
upshot and the victory ? In place, however, of praising and 
honouring the Most High, they imitate the heathen, and pros- 
trate themselves before the dumb idol of Destiny. And for 
what reason ? For this, as it seems to me : They cannot 
brook the thought that the success of their enterprises should 
depend upon a supreme will; for to that supreme will they 
would then require to subject also their decrees. They there- 

1 Isa. viii. 10. 



1 1 8 21. The Lord doeth according to His will. 

fore banish from their minds the thought that all the rods of 
earthly power are but offshoots from the lofty sceptre which 
rules the world, and should therefore adopt that sceptre's laws ; 
and thus, having severed their enactments from God, they 
sever likewise their successes. O fools ! you may perchance 
contrive to bury your terrors for a holy Lawgiver, but your 
terrors for a righteous Judge will still wake up ; and the proud 
self-complacency which you may now and then feel on 'account 
of some successful enterprise, has far too little honey to 
sweeten the many draughts of wormwood which must be 
incessantly drained by him who sees mere human powers and 
projects conflicting upon the stage of the world. Who could 
bear to think that either the woof or warp of our life, the black 
balls or the white, were committed absolutely into human 
hands, whether our own or of other men ? For my own part, 
I would rather say with the pious of former days, — 

The proverb may be well believed, 
'Tis good to be by God deceived. 

The thought that there is a hand which none can stay, may 
indeed excite alarm, but only in the breast of him who is un- 
acquainted with the heart by which the hand is governed. To 
such a one the unknown God is indeed no better than a cold 
and silent destiny. To him, however, who is acquainted with 
the heart of God, there is nothing more blessed than the belief 
in the omnipotence of His hand. Already in the Book of 
Wisdom we read : " Forasmuch as Thou art righteous Thyself, 
Thou orderest all things righteously, thinking it not agreeable 
with Thy power to condemn him that hath not deserved to be 
punished • for Thy power is the beginning of righteousness, 
and because Thou art the Lord of all it maketh Thee to be 
gracious unto all." 1 The almighty hand in which I believe is 
the hand of eternal righteousness, love, and wisdom. How can 
I be afraid of it? Ought I not much rather to rejoice, for this 
very reason — viz., because the eternal righteousness, love, and 

1 Wisdom of Solomon, xii. 15, 16. 



21. The Lord doeth according to His will. 1 19 

wisdom is also omnipotence, and therefore can never lack the 
means of gloriously accomplishing whatever its council has 
ordained ? The utmost to which the natural man can attain, 
when the destiny which is his idol has shivered to pieces all 
that was dear to his heart, is resignation — that breastplate of ice 
which, after all, does nothing for the throbbing heart but cool 
down its fever from the hot to the shivering fit — that decent 
sort of despair which, like a poor funeral sermon, tricks out 
affliction with a few apothegms, and tries to dull the smart of 
grief with phrases learned at school — that frigid falsehood 
which at the best only helps us to be willing not to be miserable 
when our misery is real and great. It still leaves us slaves, 
forced to endure the will of a master who is a stranger and un- 
known to us. We, however, who through grace have become 
children, have something better than resignation. We know 
Him from whom the opposition to our will proceeds, and be- 
cause we know Him we resign our own will to His. In this 
manner, to bear the will of God becomes a meat as much as to 
do it. And of him who has learned that lesson, no scourge or 
rod can ever more make a slave, for he continues free amidst 
all his sufferings. Do you know the beautiful sentiment once 
uttered by such an emancipated child of God ? " If my God 
does not will as I do, I will as He does, and so we continue 
always good friends." That is a sentiment which has wings. 
With it I can soar into the clouds and warble my song like the 
birds of the air. Let resignation, with the ice and iron about 
her head and heart, attempt to follow me if she can. Children, 
a palace of ice with its silvery frostwork is a pretty object to 
look at, but only from a distance; and as for inhabiting it, no 
one would do so for all the world. 

It appears a very simple truth that a mother's lap would be 
a more comfortable place, and yet there have been clever per- 
sons who had a different taste. It seems to me a strange 
thing, and well calculated to excite reflection, that God often 
offers to men wholesome bread, and yet that they prefer to 
have a stone. He, so to speak, places truth in their very path, 



120 21. The Lord doeth according to His will. 

so that they can scarcely avoid striking it with their foot; 
and yet, when they encounter it they lift their foot, and with a 
long step pass over it and are away. I remember reading, in 
the work of an able and pious Mohammedan, that there are 
three degrees of confidence in God. The first is that in which 
we trust Him as a skilful Agent who will wisely conduct our 
cause to a successful issue ; the second is that in which we 
trust Him as the babe trusts its mother; in the third we submit 
passively to Him as the corpse does to the hand of him whose 
business is to dress the dead. And this last kind of confidence, 
he says, is the best of the three. Certainly, however, the man 
must have had a peculiar taste. For where an option is 
allowed, who would not choose to serve his God alive rather 
than as a lifeless corpse ? All honour to the dead ! I cannot 
pass a body wrapped in a winding-sheet without pious and 
reverential thoughts. But yet, so long as I am among the 
living, I think it better to cast in my lot with them. Who 
would not rather be at his mother's side than in the hands of 
the undertaker? 

And if in the Christian community there are numbers of 
Heathens, and even Jews, why should we wonder that there 
are also Turks t — men whose taste is as much of a piece with 
that of the pious Mussulman as one egg is like another. For 
instance, did we not hear them saying during the prevalence 
of the cholera, "Now is the time to embrace the Turkish creed"? 
In it they fancy that faith attains to full vigour and the heart 
to true rest. And to rest the heart does attain, but it is the 
rest of the churchyard, and not the rest of the Sabbath. The 
Turk has really no advantage over the Heathen idolater. What 
he believes in is a torpid omnipotence, which, as it lacks the 
eye of love and wisdom, is nothing but the same blind destiny 
in which the Heathen believed, and regarded as the supreme 
power which lorded it over all the other deities. For this 
reason, too, both Turk and Heathen refuse to employ the 
means and appliances provided by a kind Providence as our 
auxiliaries in the conflict with fate. We Christians, however, 



2 1 . The Lord doeth according; to His will. 121 



i> 



know that the same hand which dispenses our afflictions fur- 
nishes also those medicinal agents which help to combat them. 
Hence even the sharp dispensations of God do not deaden our 
exertions, but rather rouse and stimulate our energies. Let 
others who know no better resign themselves with folded 
hands and shackled feet to impending calamities. For us 
Christians these ought rather to excite and evoke any powers 
within us that may be under restraint. In every individual 
there are powers which otherwise might perhaps lie dormant 
for ever, but which awake when the hammer of the divine dis- 
pensations deals its thundering strokes. 

Alas ! it is no easy task to exercise a truly Christian faith in 
the Omnipotent. How clearly the unbelief of my heart reveals 
itself afresh whenever God is pleased to beset my path with 
thorns ! We know and repeat to ourselves a thousand times, 
that as the eternal wisdom, justice, and love is likewise omni- 
potence, it is able at every moment to execute what it wills. 
But notwithstanding, how hard we find it to acknowledge the 
disposal of Omnipotence in the thorns as well as in the roses 
that bestrew our path ; how hard to believe that it is the will 
of God which calls us to suffer, not less than when it calls us 
to act ! We nourish the delusion that it is only the act lying 
behind the suffering, the freedom behind the fetter, which God 
wills, and not the suffering and the fetter too. These, we 
fancy, have been interposed by some foreign hand; and in this 
manner we forego the blessing which the Lord intends afflictions 
and restraints and hindrances to convey. The idea that the 
divine Omnipotence removes distress, is one on which every 
man broods far longer than upon the thought that it is also 
divine Omnipotence that inflicts it, and that there must have 
been as good grounds for sending as for me7tding it. Men 
are always saying, " God will soon make it well again." 
Why do they not as often say, " It was God who made it 
what it is " ? 

Think not that from some foe the burden came, 
And all you owe to God is strength to bear it. 



122 2i. The Lord doeth according to His will. 

The cross, the curb, are His, because the same 

Almighty power must will who could repair it. 
Seek then, my child, thy Father's mind to know 
In what befalls thee, be it weal or woe. 

Almighty God, whose hand none can stay, and of whom 
none can ask, " What doest Thou ? " I reckon it a blessed 
thing that all that I am and all that I possess are solely at Thy 
disposal. Weak as a child, why should I resist Thee ? inas- 
much as I must perish if I do. Foolish as a child, why should 
I question Thee? Thou knowest best what Thou doest. I 
count it my greatest happiness to have Thee for my absolute 
God, and to know that I am the work of Thy hand. And 
why not, assured as I am that Thine omnipotence is but the 
omnipotence of wisdom and love ? With such a belief, a man 
ought always to be strong. -There are, however, seasons in 
which I feel myself very weak ; but oh, do Thou arm me with 
that strength of mind which can taste in the bitters Thou 
offerest, no less than in the sweets, Thy loving and almighty 
will. What though the cup be bitter, ought it not to be 
sweetened by the hand which presents it ? Let suns then be 
extinguished, and worlds sink into the abyss, I have learned, 
O Almighty God, to know Thee so well, as never more to have 
any doubts about Thee. I wrap myself in the outermost hem 
of Thy mantle, and shut my eyes in soft repose, like the babe 
upon the mother's lap, for I know whose are the eyes that 
watch over me for ever. 

O what a blessed thing to rest 

Soothed in Jehovah's loving arms ! 
As sleeps the babe on mother's breast, 

Safe from all troubles and alarms. 

Cheer up, my soul ! thy place remains 

Appointed on the eternal hills ; 
And what a heart of love ordains, 

A hand omnipotent fulfils. 



22. He is angry with the Wicked. 123 

22. 

#e'is angrg fottjj tije TOtcfcefc, 

6W is a healthful light or a consuming fire — 
Choose which thoti wilt, and take thy heart's desire ; 
His children all bask in the cheerful rays, 
The stubborn sinner brooks the angry blaze. 

Rom. i. 18. " For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven 
against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who 
hold the truth in unrighteousness." 

Heb. xii. 28, 29. "Wherefore we receiving a kingdom 
which cannot be moved, let us have grace, whereby we 
may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear : 
for our God is a consuming fire." 

1 Peter, i. 17. "And if ye call on the Father, who without 
respect of persons judgeth according to every man's work, 
pass the time of your sojourning here in fear." 

( ^T 7" HO knoweth the power of Thine anger? who fears 
V V as he ought Thy wrath?" 1 was the exclamation of 
the veteran Moses. Alas ! is it not an exclamation which, in 
these days of ours, ought to be rung into the ears of men from 
every pulpit? Blindness has fallen upon this generation. 
" Thou hast stricken them, but they have not grieved ; Thou 
hast consumed them, but they have refused to receive correc- 
tion." 2 God is love; and therefore, in place of keeping to 
Himself the felicity and the blessings which He enjoys, He is 
willing to share them with us, If men, however, despise and 
reject them, His love is converted into a consuming fire. In 
His inmost heart He desires to bless ; and therefore it is written, 
" He doth not afflict willingly, nor grieve the children of men." 3 
But should the children of men refuse His blessing, He is quite 

1 Psalm xc. 11 — Luther's vers. 2 Jer. v. 3. 3 Lam. iii. 33. 



124 22 - He is angry with the Wicked. 

as much in earnest to smite and retaliate. When the terrors 
of conscience awaken in the sinner — when it becomes openly- 
manifest that iniquity is the people's ruin — when the wicked 
fall into the pit which they themselves digged, and when sin 
brings forth death — who will deny that these things are the 
wrath of God against unrighteousness? No doubt, God's 
wrath is different from the wrath of man j 1 but neither does 
He love in man's passionate and capricious way. They who 
deny His wrath must have had little experience of the heat of 
temptation, when, according to Luther, " Conscience sweats 
as in a bath, and the Almighty casts the sinner into the 
furnace : as it is written, ' Yea, I will gather you, and blow 
upon you in the fire of my wrath, and ye shall be melted in the 
midst thereof;' " 2 when He sets in array before his eyes all his 
secret misdeeds, so that he is forced to cry out with David, 
" Thine arrows stick fast in me, and Thy hand presseth me 
sore. There is no soundness in my flesh because of Thine 
anger ; neither is there any rest in my bones because of my 
sin. For mine iniquities are gone over mine head : as an 
heavy burden they are too heavy for me." 3 Can any one fail 
to see in all this the expression of a keen and active abhor- 
rence of iniquity? Were one to call it mere love, he would 
feel that he was lying to himself. No doubt, the love of God 
is not wholly extinguished, although His anger is so hot. For 
if the fierceness of His wrath have produced its due effect, the 
sun of His grace will rise again. Has He not said, " I kill, 
and I make alive ; I wound, and I heal " ? " In my wrath I 
smote thee, but in my favour have I had mercy on thee." 4 Nor 
is that all j for inasmuch as in His inmost heart He desires to 
bless all the works of His hand, His wrath itself is a wrath of 
love, which no doubt bespeaks His abhorrence of sin, and His 
determination to punish it by the penalties it inflicts, but 
which likewise intends to soften the heart, and while destroy- 
ing the sin, to save the sinner. Accordingly, His wrath and 

1 James, i. 20. 2 Ezek. xxii. 21. 3 Psalm xxxviii. 2-4. 

4 Deut. xxxii. 39 ; Isa. lx. 10. 



22. He is angry with the Wicked. 125 

vengeance are poured out in proportion as the stubborn heart 
refuses to melt in the divine furnace, and merely feels the pain, 
but does not reap the profit, of the chastisement. While, on 
the other hand, in the same degree in which the stubborn 
heart consents to soften, the Lord shows forth His love. Just as 
in the promises and threatenings of the law, so in all the pun- 
ishments He inflicts, He declares, " Behold, I set before you 
the way of life and the way of death." 1 In this view there is, 
no doubt, truth in what the poet says : — 

' ' God is as near to Satan as to the Seraphim — 
The difference is that Satan dares to turn his back on Him." 

But just because Satan turns his back upon God, God is near 
to Satan, not as the Sun of grace, but as a consuming fire ; 
whereas, would Satan only turn his face to God, God would 
then be near to him too as a Sun of grace. And inasmuch as 
the ground of His being is goodwill to all the creatures, so 
that He would rather bless than destroy them, the Scriptures 
declare with- greater truth that God is far from the sinner who 
turns his back upon Him, and to whom, therefore, He mani- 
fests Himself as a consuming fire, although even in that dis- 
tance there is still on God's part a certain interest in the 
sinner, for in punishing He still cleaves to him, and does not 
wholly cast him off. 

Give me, O holy Being, enlightened eyes that I may never 
suffer the weakness of the flesh to blind me, but may still hold 
fast the persuasion that Thou art in earnest alike in Thy wrath 
as in Thy love. By grace Thou hast adopted me to be Thy 
child, but even Thy grace I may turn into licentiousness, and 
the old man within me may from time to time become manifest 
in works of the flesh. And when such things happen, do I not, 
O Lord, subject myself to Thy righteous indignation? Even 
we who are Christians ought, as is expressed in Thy Word, 
"to pass the time of our sojourning here in fear." True, it is 
also written that " perfect love casteth out fear;" but the fear 

1 Jer. xxi. 8. 



126 22. He is angry with the Wicked. 

which is there meant is only servile fear. Even the reverence 
of a child towards its parent is a sort of fear, and there must 
always be reverence in the love of the inferior to the superior. 
" Ye call Him Father, who without respect of persons judgeth 
according to every man's work," are the words of an apostle. 
Forasmuch, then, as our Judge is our Father, we certainly do 
not fear Him as bondsmen ; but being, as we are, frail children, 
we do bear about with us a reverential awe of Him. It is by 
no means indifferent whether as Christians we believe or reject 
those stern examples of God's wrath which are presented to us 
in Scripture, because our love, as yet, is far from being suffi- 
ciently strong to beget that sensibility of conscience which 
shrinks even from the secret thought that is unfit for the divine 
eye. Necessity is therefore laid upon us to pass the time of 
our sojourning here in fear, and in fear to seek to serve and 
please Him. In the same way, however, as the wrath of God 
is a wrath of love, so likewise is the fear of His children also a 
fear of love. In truth, what is there of which we, whom the 
Son hath made free and translated into the kingdom of grace, 
are afraid ? Is it strokes of the rod ? Is it chastisements by 
the hand of justice ? Yes, doubtless, these are things which 
we too fear ; but we fear something worse — we fear to lose the 
heart of God by our sins. 

Chastise me for my wanderings with the rod, 

And I the pain, however great, will bear ; 
But if Thy heart Thou bar to me, O God, 

That punishment will drive me to despair. 

I now also understand what was meant by those devout 
souls whose desire it was rather to be in hell with the love of 
God than without His love to be in heaven, and who were 
ready to resign all His gifts, and eternal salvation to boot, 
were but the Giver to be made their portion, as one of them 
thus sang : — 

' ' Who only asks for gifts, his worship pays 
Not to God, but the creature, when he prays." 

Yes — to lose the heart of God is the greatest of all losses. 






23. Vengeance is wiine, saith the Lord. 127 

What we have most to fear in punishment is its tendency to 
harden the heart. But now that in Christ Jesus I have a 
gracious God, I am thankful to say my heart is becoming 
softer • and so no longer does the face of death stare out upon 
me from my chastisements. Rather is it the water of life 
which flows forth. I look into the open heart of my Father, 
from which they all proceed, and I see that He Himself suffers 
in all the sufferings He inflicts upon His child ; and, assured 
of this, I exclaim with exultation — 

O Love Eternal, if the rod alone 

Avail to turn my wandering heart to Thee, 
And touch it with Thy holy flame, strike on ! 

Spare not, though life and limb the forfeit be. 
Of every stroke the bitter pain Thou provest 

Not less than I, O ever faithful heart ! 
Shall I not love Thee, then, as me Thou lovest ? 

Smite on ! I flinch not, keen though be the smart. 



23. 

Uettjjeattce is mine, saitfj tfje Horfc. 

God is all love, is now the general plea, 
Say of what sort, perchance we may agree. 
The noble name is deemed of little worth, 
A nd used to baptise many a spuriozis birth. 
Mean you the love the monarch's breast that fills 
Who scalers blessings o'er a thousand hills, 
Who high and low with equal eye regards, 
And gives to all desert its due rewards ? 
Such is the love of God, but love like this 
A spark of generous wrath accompanies ; 
For majesty when wronged by wrath must prove 
That royal honour's matched with royal LOVE. 

Jer. xxxii. 19. "Thine eyes are open upon all the ways of 
the sons of men : to give every one according to his ways, 
and according to the fruit of his doings." 



128 2 3. Vengeance is mine, saith the Lord. 

Deut. xxxii. 35. "To me belongeth vengeance and recom- 
pense." 

Psalm xviii. 26. "With the pure Thou wilt show Thyself 
pure ; and with the froward Thou wilt show Thyself fro- 
ward." 1 

Matt. xvi. 27. " For the Son of man shall come in the glory 
of His Father with His angels ; and then He shall reward 
every man according to his works." 

BESIDE the thousand loving admonitions and sweet entice- 
ments addressed to us in the Word of God, how many 
thunderbolts of vengeance and lightnings of wrath are likewise 
there ! Even before the sacred Scriptures had become for me 
the Word of truth, never could I persuade myself that the God 
who was so often preached from the pulpit as wearing perpetu- 
ally a gracious smile, covering every sore, and always and every- 
where sparing and caressing, was the God of the Bible. A 
very different Being is He of whom in the Old Testament it is 
written, " Thou art not a God that hath pleasure in wickedness, 
neither shall evil dwell with Thee." 2 And again, " The Lord 
thy God is a consuming fire, even a jealous God." 3 And 
again, " The Lord shall go forth as a mighty man, He shall 
stir up jealousy like a man of war." 4 A very different God, 
indeed, — and that those preachers themselves admit. But not 
less is the God of the New Testament a very different Being — 
He who, when Israel knew not the time of her visitation, 
caused Jerusalem to be kept in on every side, and the abomi- 
nation of desolation to be planted in the holy place, and left 
not there one stone upon another : 5 He who, in the infant 
Church,- punished with instant death the lie told by two Chris- 
tians to an inspired apostle : 6 He who, as much as the God of 
the Old Testament, is a God of judgment and fiery indigna- 
tion, which shall devour the adversaries. 7 What an over- 

1 I.e., Thou treatest every one according to his deserts. 2 Psalm v. 4. 

3 Deut. iv. 24. 4 Isa. xlii. 13. 5 Luke, xix. 42-44 ; Matt. xxiv. 15. 

6 Acts, v. 10. 7 Heb. x. 27 ; xii. 29. 



23. Vengeance is mine, saith the Lord. 129 

powering impression of the severity of the divine justice we 
receive, when we find the Saviour, while with all gentleness 
and love He weeps over the ungodly nation, 1 nevertheless in- 
timating the inevitable divine judgments which would accom- 
pany His own rejection ! And again, when, although Himself 
overwhelmed by the great waters of tribulation, and upon the 
way to the place of execution, He cannot help pointing to the 
dark cloud of wrath which He saw gathering over the city, and 
utters the affecting and significant words : " Daughters of 
Jerusalem, weep not for me, but weep for yourselves, and for 
your children. For, behold, the days are coming, in the which 
they shall say, Blessed are the barren, and the wombs that 
never bare, and the paps which never gave suck. Then shall 
they begin to say to the mountains, Fall on us ; and to the 
hills, Cover us. For if they do these things in a green tree, 
what shall be done in the dry ? " 2 

But why should it be necessary to collect testimonies of 
Scripture, and expatiate at large respecting the wrath of God 
against sin? When acts speak there is no need of an orator; 
and oh how loudly have acts spoken here ! Let a man only 
read the Books of Samuel and the Kings. So closely do we 
there find punishments treading on the heels of sin, and the 
scourge following rebellion against God, that they may truly 
be called Journals of Divi?ie Justice. In profane history, 
likewise — although we require to finger the leaves somewhat 
more — still we now and then come to a page where, upon a 
ground all worn and yellow with tears, great and solemn letters 
start into the view of even the most careless reader, and pro- 
claim aloud, " Be not deceived ; God is not mocked." 3 

No doubt it does sometimes appear that Divine Justice is 
like a great monarch who has fallen asleep, and with whom his 
courtiers meanwhile make sport, but who from time to time 
wakes and starts up, and whose every glance is then a flash of 
lightning, which shivers into pieces and prostrates all around. 
Still the footsteps of the indignant Monarch, when thus roused, 
1 Luke, xix. 41 ; Matt, xxiii. 37. 2 Luke, xxiii. 28-31. 3 Gal. vi. 7. 

I 



130 23. Vengeance is mine, saith the Lord. 

must certainly have been often and audibly heard in every 
corner of the earth ; for there is scarce a nation to be found 
which does not believe that there is a God who governs the 
world according to the eternal laws of justice. One of the sages 
of antiquity, when asked the question, "What is God doing?" 
returned the eminently beautiful answer, " He is humbling the 
lofty, and exalting the humble." The Grecian poets likewise 
spoke of a Goddess of justice, who holds in her hand a sharp 
and bitter sword, and with it transfixes the heart ; for not un- 
observed remains the crime of him who audaciously violates 
the divine law. She has officers in her train, and their names 
are Destructioit, Curse,' and Punishment. 1 Under the title of 
Nemesis, too, they venerated a power which, when human 
pride oversteps its appointed bounds, forces it back into its 
place, and with its lightning dashes to pieces whoever dares to 
oppose it. Experiences and proofs of this cannot have been 
hard to find, for otherwise how would the proverbs of so many 
nations propound such serious lessons as the following : " Ill- 
gotten gold is no gain ; " " Unfairly won is soon wasted ; " 
" The crop will show how the field was ploughed ; " " Pride 
goeth before a fall ; " "Honesty is the best policy;" "Truth 
will be out though hid in a well"? In no country of the 
earth, not even among the giddiest and most frivolous nations, 
would you easily find an individual whom an inward feeling of 
awe would not restrain from such a pitch of insolent blasphemy 
as impiously to challenge Divine Justice to a trial of strength. 
Men are capable of forgetting, but they are not bold enough to 
defy it. Just as in a dark night a man would shrink from call- 
ing aloud upon himself, lest, perchance, some voice might 
answer ; even so will the dread of a response deter him from 
invoking the Avenger in heaven. Where any case of the kind 
has occurred, there have not been wanting, even in our own 
day, dreadfully serious manifestations " that God still lives." 
The cases, though isolated, are yet at the same time so deci- 
sive, that even irreligious men find it hard to attribute them to 

1 iEschylus. 



23. Vengeance is mine, saith the Lord. 131 

chance. Thus, among other things, witnesses of unimpeach- 
able veracity tell us of persons insulting the crucifix, and defy- 
ing Him whom it represents, and whose challenge was answered 
in a very terrible way. 

Is, then, the amendment of the sinner to be looked upon as 
the sole object of such penal justice ? I have made observa- 
tions upon myself while correcting children who were dear to 
me, and it is true that we punish them with love, but not 
altogether from love. The punishment involves a certain ele- 
ment of retribution, and that in proportion as the culpable 
child shows himself headstrong and incorrigible. Supposing 
it to be known, with all conceivable certainty, that within a 
given time — until, for example, a new preceptor was employed, 
or a new method of training adopted — no change in the be- 
haviour of a perverse and disobedient child could be expected, 
it would not be possible, during the interval, to treat such a 
child in exactly the same way as other children ; and this im- 
possibility would arise, not from any apprehension that our 
kindness would be abused, but from a conviction of the neces- 
sity of retribution, or, in other words, a sense of justice. On 
the other hand, a child, after some flagrant transgression, may 
be deeply penitent, and yet we feel constrained to punish it. 
Nay, it has happened to myself to hear a young offender in the 
deepest contrition say, " I feel that what I have done is so 
wrong that I must be punished." Moreover, the punishment 
inflicted by the magistracy is merely an image of that of God. 
And why does the magistrate punish ? The sentence of death 
upon the malefactor runs in these terms : " As a just punish- 
ment to himself, and a warning example to others." Accordingly, 
neither the example to others, nor yet the malefactor's own 
amendment, is the chief reason for his punishment — but retri- 
bution. He has infringed the general law, and therefore is his 
individual right infringed, and violence done to his property 
or person. The weight of his transgression is ascertained, and 
with the same measure with which he did mete is it measured 
to him again. That is iustice among men : and can the case 



132 23. Vengeance is mine, saith the Lord. 

be different with the justice of God? Sin is an aggression 
upon the right which pertains to Him as absolute Lord over 
His creatures ; and is it not just to measure to the sinner 
again with the same measure with which he measured unto 
God? " In the light of the king's countenance," says Solo- 
mon, "is life ; and his favour is as a cloud of the latter rain." x 
Yes ; but would we be conscious of this if it were not also true 
that " the fear of a king is as the roaring of a lion : whoso pro- 
voketh him to anger sinneth against his own soul"? 2 The 
love of God is indeed a good thing; unless, however, it be 
seasoned by a spice of His holiness, one is tempted to think 
of the saying of Job : " Can that which is unsavoury be eaten 
without salt ? or is there any taste in the white of an egg ? " 3 
Oh that our preachers would but infuse into their insipid dis- 
courses upon the character of God some portion of that stern 
and pungent salt so plentifully supplied by the writings of the 
prophets ! The Word of the Lord has said, " Every one shall 
be salted with fire, and every sacrifice shall be salted with 
salt." 4 In the oblations of the Old Testament, honey, that so 
easily turns into acid, was forbidden to be used ; they required 
to be salted with salt : and shall not the God who calls for 
pungent salt upon every oblation which is to be acceptable to 
Him, have pungent salt also in His own nature ? That the 
Lord is an avenger and will repay, is the true salt in the belief 
of the Divine Being. 

Yes — he who has become sensible of God's righteous indig- 
nation against himself, though he may once have allowed such 
sermons to slip softly down his throat, will at last surfeit at 
their descriptions of God's love, which are as tasteless as the 
white of an egg, and destitute alike of earnestness and pith. 
" Hast thou found honey?" says Solomon ; " eat so much as 
is sufficient for thee, lest thou be filled therewith, and vomit it." 5 
How they come to preach in this style is obvious enough. 
That which a man has not in himself neither does he ascribe 
to his God. 

1 Prov. xvi. 15. 2 Prov. xx. 2. 3 Job, vi. 6. 4 Mark, ix. 49. 5 Prov. xxv. 16. 



23. Vengeance is mine, saith the Lord. 133 

All for themselves a God devise, 
And so the true God they despise. 

No wrong whatever is done to love by the belief of a God 
who is the avenger of evil. If the irreligious man will submit 
to be warned — if, when taught to his cost what the infringe- 
ment of God's sacred and inviolable law entails, he take home 
the admonition and learn to do what is right and good, he has 
this at his option. And the like obtains with us who have the 
grace to be His children. The corrections to which we, no less 
than others, are subjected, bear, as a blessed fruit, our escape 
from condemnation, according to the words of the apostle, 
that " when we are judged we are chastened of the Lord, that 
we should not be condemned with the world." l From the fact 
that God exercises rigour even towards His children, and over- 
looks none of our faults, unbelievers ought to see what will 
one day be the issue for them. As St Peter says, " The time 
is come that judgment must begin at the house of God : and 
if it first begin with us, what shall the end be of them that 
obey not the Gospel of God ? " 2 If, however, the stubborn 
heart refuse to learn the lesson taught by divine retribution, it 
is free to do so, but 1 does it at its own risk ; nay, under the 
strokes of the divine hand, it may even proceed from bad to 
worse, and from its impure depths foam out murmurs and 
curses and blasphemies. That, however, does not disturb 
divine justice. When cast into the wine-press, the grapes will 
emit the juice that is in them, whether it be sweet or sour. 
The knave who lurks in the heart would as certainly have dis- 
covered himself in the gentle sunbeams — according to the say- 
ing of the Emperor Charles, that the sun melts only wax, and 
hardens only mud. This process goes on until it reaches the 
judgment of obduracy, and then sin itself becomes the sinner's 
scourge, so that he is as tow, and what he does as a spark, 
and both burn together. 3 Even, however, in a case like this, 
where the vials of divine wrath are emptied upon an ungodly 
man, still, properly speaking, the love of God is never clean 
1 1 Cor. xi. 32. 2 1 Pet. iv. 17. 3 Isa. i. 31. 



134 2 3- Vengeance is mine, saith the Lord. 

gone. Must it not be said, that so long as He lifts the rod to 
smite and chastise him, it is a sign that He still bears him on 
His heart, or at least in His memory, and has not set him 
loose from all restraint? And even for the most wayward 
transgressor, is there not always at least a glimmer of hope 
that as long as he walks linked to the chain of divine justice, 
that chain will one day draw him back to the Great Being from 
whom by his sin he would fain make his escape ? 

There is, however, no longer any fear of God left in this 
generation. The perpetual preaching about the love of the 
universal Father has preached it quite away. No doubt, fear 
is not the end of wisdom, but the Bible tells us that it is the 
"beginning of it." 1 And as there is fear in reverence, it may 
in this sense b*e said even of the child of God who has found 
grace, that he continues to fear to the last, as the apostle 
writes : " If ye call on the Father, who without respect of per- 
sons judgeth according to every man's work, pass the time of 
your sojourning here in fear." 2 I clearly perceive that were 
the fear of God to regain its due place — were but that shadow 
of a king whom they have set upon the throne of the world, 
and from whose feeble hand every child can wrest the sceptre 
with impunity, to resign his seat to the King of whom it is 
written, "God judgeth the righteous, and is angry with the 
wicked every day," 3 then should we again find among us peni- 
tent hearts and awakened consciences inquiring after the way 
of life. I have observed that wherever in the Catholic Church 
faithful pastors have preached the way of life, spiritual hunger 
and thirst have always been excited to a greater extent than in 
ours. From what other cause does this arise, than because our 
people have been surfeited with the continual preaching of the 
Gospel without repentance; whereas among them the preach- 
ing of repentance and of the law abounds, while there is a 
dearth of the preaching of the Gospel ? 

• Yes, verily, O holy God, thou art as long-suffering as holy. 

In a world which doubts whether justice is the pillar of Thy 

1 Psalm cxi. 10; Prov. i. 7. 2 1 Pet. i. 17. 3 Psalm vii. 11. 



24. The Goodness of God leadeth to Repentance. 135 

throne, and where on every hand Thy grace is turned to licen- 
tiousness, how great the forbearance with which Thou dost 
punish, and how long Thou dost wait for the repentance of the 
sinner ! But Thy jealousy will at last be roused, and after Thy 
mercies have been all despised, will discharge itself without re- 
serve. Stir up, O holy God, in my own heart a true and lively 
fear of the rod of Thy justice. I know that when Thou threat- 
enest I can shelter myself beneath the skirt of Thy robe ; but 
I also know that should that betray me into security, the very 
shadow of Thy hand above my head will turn into a stormy 
cloud ; and therefore, so long as I sojourn here below, I will 
pass the time in fear, and in humbly looking up to Thee. I 
know that wert Thou to deal with me according to the rule of 
justice alone, Thou hast a perfect right to condemn me, and 
that I owe my salvation to grace alone. 






24. 

&{je ffiootMess of fficoo leatotfj to Hfopmtance. 

God will His rights assert one day ; 
And if in time He make delay 
He has a reason good, which is, 
That all eternity is His. 

Matt. xiii. 27-30. "So the servants of the householder 
came and said unto him, Sir, didst not thou sow good 
seed in thy field? from whence then hath it tares? He 
said unto them, An enemy hath done this. The servants 
said unto him, Wilt thou then that we go and gather them 
up? But he said, Nay; lest, while ye gather up the tares, 
ye root up also the wheat with them. Let both grow to- 
gether until the harvest." 



136 24. The Goodness of God leadeth to Repentance. 

Rom. ii. 4, 5. " Despisest thou the riches of His goodness 
and forbearance and long-suffering ; not knowing that the 
goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance ? But after 
thy hardness and impenitent heart treasurest up unto thy- 
self wrath against the day of wrath and revelation of the 
righteous judgment of God." 

THEY seem to me a peculiar class of men who affirm that 
they find no difficulty in firmly and steadfastly believing 
that there is a holy God, and that He governs this ungodly 
world, with all the other doctrines declared to us in sacred 
Scripture ; and that their faith never begins to waver or fail 
until they come to the article of Christ the Son of God dying 
for our sins and rising again for our justification. Verily, when 
a man runs his head against that article, it is quite certain that 
a great breach must long before have been made in his faith— 
viz., at the articles designated by Scripture as the principles of 
the doctrine of Christ : such as repentance, faith toward God, 
and God's temporal and eternal judgment against sin. 1 To 
myself, at least, no task ever appeared so hard as, in a world 
like that before our eyes, to believe with a firm and unwaver- 
ing heart that it is governed by a God of love and justice. When 
I set in array before my mind all the shocking things of which 
human life is full — the rapacious tooth of the tiger, the serpent's 
poisonous bite, sea-storms, and earthquakes, famine and pes- 
tilence, madness, with the whole train of diseases and bitter 
death — I cannot help wondering that King Alphonso of Ara- 
gon should have been the only fool who proposed to Divine 
Wisdom to manufacture a far better world than the worm-eaten 
fabric we now behold. And if I further picture to myself all 
the scandals in the moral world, the fierce and poisonous tooth 
with which man attacks his fellow, the storms and earthquakes 
of passion and folly, and the fearful infection with which each 
communicates to his neighbour the poison of sin, and thereby 
destroys him, — ah me ! whoever in these circumstances can 

1 Heb. vi. 1, 2. 



24. The Goodness of God leadeth to Repentance. 137 

freely and firmly believe in the government of the world by a 
God of righteousness, that man I look upon as a saint of the 
first degree ; and humbly will I go into his school, that I may 
learn of him what faith is. 

When the heart is thus softened at the thought of the wicked- 
ness of the world, how comfortable and edifying the doctrine 
which our blessed Lord teaches in the parable of the tares and 
the wheat! You ask, "Why do the tares grow so rank?" 
" Friend," replies Christ, "it is because the time of the harvest is 
not yet come." Observe, the servants of the householder also 
would fain have forcibly extirpated them ; but what did he call 
out ? " Be not so rash ■ let both grow together until the time 
of harvest." It must be remembered that the tares spoken of 
in this passage are, according to the original Greek, the mock- 
wheat which, while still unripe, resembles the good as much as 
any one thing can resemble another, and indeed cannot be dis- 
tinguished from it until it reaches maturity. Even so upon the 
theatre of the world, where God is merely rearing children for 
Himself, it cannot be discovered who are the good wheat and 
who are the tares until both are ripe. If the Lord had com- 
manded fire to come down from heaven upon Samaria, as His 
disciples wished, how could Samaria have received the word 
of God ? 1 Had Nineveh been overthrown, according to 
Jonah's desire, how could it have been converted ? If a Saul, 
when breathing out threatenings and slaughter against the 
Church of God, had been instantly cut down, how could a 
Paul have become a preacher of righteousness? For this 
reason, dear reader, let us cautiously guard against being over- 
rash, and learn from the Saviour's beautiful parable to be pru- 
dent in our judgments, indulgent in our behaviour, and con- 
fident in our anticipation of a harvest-time at last. You may 
imagine that the householder is still asleep. Nothing, how- 
ever, escapes his notice. And when the time of harvest 
comes, he will arise like a strong man in the midst of a secure 
world, and will then as surely carry into effect the separation 

1 Luke, ix. 54; Acts, viii. 14. 



138 24. The Goodness of God leadeth to Repentance. 

of the goats from the sheep, and of the tares from the wheat, 
as for the present he mercifully postpones it. At last does not 
mean never. 

In truth, were there to be no other judgment than that which 
takes place in time, we could hardly blame a man for doubting 
if the sceptre that governs the world is really in the hand of 
Justice. Here and there, it is true, Justice has written her 
name upon the page of history, in characters so large that, as 
the prophet says, " he that runneth may read." Yes, read it 
the simplest can, the unbeliever must. And not less true is it 
that the Gentile nations in all ages have believed in a retribu- 
tive power which, according to Mary's song, "hath showed 
strength with His arm, and scattered the proud in the imagina- 
tion of their hearts ; and put down the mighty from their seats, 
and exalted them of low degree." * It must, however, be ad- 
mitted, that the times in which this has been seen are but as a 
few transparent spots in the dark stream of the history of man- 
kind ; and that the lesson taught by such particular instances 
can never possibly hold its own against that which, as appears 
to the carnal eye, one day uttereth unto another — viz., that the 
righteous is trodden under foot, and the ungodly stands upon 
his dust. This is what Asaph of old deplored when he said : 
" As for me, my feet were almost gone ; my steps had well- 
nigh slipped. For I was envious at the foolish, when I saw 
the prosperity of the wicked. . . . When I thought to know 
this, it was too painful for me ; until I went into the sanctuary 
of God; then understood I their end." 2 Yes, we must mark 
the end; truth conquers at last. 

So very great is the long-suffering of God, that one might 
almost fancy He paid slight regard to what the devil and the 
world are doing against Him. If, however, you suppose that, 
because His goodness delays the punishment and waits for the 
repentance of the sinner, His justice will be defrauded of its 
dues, Beware ! For though He may delay for a season, He 
has yet spread so many nets and snares, that there is no pos- 
1 Luke, i. 51, 52. 2 Psalm lxxiii. 2, 3, 16, 17. 



24. The Goodness of God leadeth to Repentance. 1 39 

sibility of escape from His hands. " These things hast thou 
done, and I kept silence ; thou thoughtest that I was altogether 
such an one as thyself: but I will reprove thee, and set them 
in order before thine eyes." 1 So speaks the Lord : and again, 
" Thinkest thou I will hold my peace for ever, that thou fearest 
me not ?" 2 Hear, too, the words of David : " In my prosper- 
ity I said, I shall never be moved;" but then he subjoins, 
" Thou didst hide Thy face, and I was troubled." 3 As Luther 
expresses it, the Lord our God often treads so softly among 
the wicked and perverse race of men that none can hear the 
sound of His steps ; but this He does only for a time, for at 
length all His thunders come down in a heap. To hard hearts 
He will remit nothing. 

God walks unseen among the sons of men- — 

' ' And silent is His step, but near the goal 
He rushes with the thunder of decision." 4 

When it is said of Him whose throne is in the heavens, that 
He laughs at those who rage and plot against Him, His laugh 
lasts only for a while. Soon there follows, " Then shall He 
speak unto them in His wrath, and vex them in His sore dis- 
pleasure." 5 For a great instance of this, even in the present 
world, attend diligently to what Christ in the Gospel 6 says of 
unbelieving Jerusalem, which God for a long time visited with 
His grace, but from which at last He did not withhold the 
rod. 

His justice is not defrauded of its rights, although in His 
forbearance He delays to punish ; for as the apostle here says, 
" His goodness is but an exhortation to repentance? How 
sweet, but at the same time how terrible, a truth it is, that the 
morsel of bread which an ungodly man puts into his mouth, 
the sunbeam which warms his face, and the rain which drops 
from heaven to fertilise his field, are all calls to repentance, 
and all come from the God who maketh the sun to rise upon 

1 Psalm 1. 21. 2 Isa. lvii. n — Luther's vers. 3 Psalm xxx. 6, 7. 

4 Klopstock. 5 Psalm ii. 4, 5. 6 Luke, xix. 41. 



140 24. The Goodness of God leadeth to Repentance. 

the evil and the good ! Observe well when He thus visits 
thee, and thou wilt see, that while He has only blessings in 
His hand, He has at the same time a rod beneath His robe ; 
and if His blessings do not soften thy heart, He will immediately 
smite thee with His rod — for none knows better when to use 
the staff of beauty, and when the staff of ba?ids. 1 

It is further written, "After thy impenitent heart thou 
treasurest up unto thyself wrath against the day of wrath." 
Woe's me ! what an alarming word is this ! Every grace which 
I despise, turns, it appears, into a judgment. " The witling," 
says Luther, " stands in the street and gapes with astonishment 
that it is not the good, although they are a privileged class, 
but the wicked, who are allowed by the long-suffering of God 
to grow up like trees planted by the rivers of water." 2 But 
lo ! all the while, His righteous judgments, like the grains of 
sand in the hour-glass, are silently but ceaselessly running 
their course. Not a blessing received with impenitence but 
changes into anger. The more they are in number, so many 
more are the vials of wrath treasured up against the day of 
judgment, and which shall then infallibly be discharged. 
Behold, the jovial drunkard sits and drains with relish glass 
after glass, but all the while does not mark the hand which is 
writing out the reckoning — that reckoning which shall one day 
be presented to him, and which his whole substance will be 
insufficient to pay. 

Such, O gracious God, have often been my reflections when 
I beheld Thee crowning the head of the ungodly with fulness 
of joy and blessing. These sparkling brilliants, meth ought, 
may they not perhaps be coals of fire ? But have I likewise 
attended to my own case ? Who knows but that others may 
see many a bright gem glittering upon my head, for which I 
have never repaid Thee with thanks ? Woe's me ! if these too 
shall one day turn into burning coals ! Oh how rich the good- 
ness with which Thou daily leadest me to repentance ! And 
oh how wicked and unfaithful my heart, which needs so many 
1 Zech. xi. 7. 2 Psalm i. 3. 



2 5 . The disposing of the L ot is of the Lord. 141 

to preach repentance to it from the pulpit, although, were the 
Holy Spirit to take away the blindness from my eyes, every 
mouthful of bread, every gentle shower, and every warm sun- 
beam, would discourse to me upon the same theme ! Behold, 
O my God, I approach Thy throne as a child humbled and 
abashed, and my prayer to Thee is that Thou wouldst still 
delay to punish me, for I will yield to Thy goodness which 
leadeth me to repentance. 

O God, whose eye my inmost bosom sounds, 

My debt of gratitude I long to pay ; 

Let then its fiery glance purge clean away 
The selfish dross that in my heart abounds. 

It is a thought which well may fear inspire 
Even in the holy mind, that every grace 
Which cheers the sinner, when he disobeys 

Turns on his guilty head to angry fire. 

Awhile he triumphs, when, unmarked or spurned, 
Mercy with blessings makes his cup o'erflow ; 
But even amidst his exaltation, lo ! 

The gifts of God have into judgments turned. 



25. 

£{je bisposmo; of tfje Hot is of tije Horn. 

What can it be but chance ? I hear thee say, 
A?zd that to loose the knot's an easy way ; 
But keep thy mind from chance-bred FANCIES clear, 
And from the world all chance will disappear. 

Prov. xvi. 33. " The lot is cast into the lap ; but the whole 

disposing thereof is of the Lord." 
Luke, x. 31. "And by chance there came down a certain 

priest that way : and when he saw him, he passed by on 

the other side." 



142 25. The disposing of the Lot is of the Lord. 

BY chance! So then even the Holy Scriptures speak of 
chance. There are persons who feel a scruple to do 
so. There can, however, be no sin in the word, seeing it has 
been used by the Saviour Himself. But what is chance ? It 
certainly is not a deity, a fate coequal with, or even superior 
to, the Almighty Father of heaven and earth. No ; it is nothing 
but a vocable which we employ when there is a gap in our 
wisdom, and our insight into the connection of cause and 
effect is at fault. It is more a name for something in ourselves 
than for anything in nature without. We designate as chance, 
effects which do not appear to have proceeded from purpose 
and design. Thus we call it chance when any event occurs 
which was not intended by man ; just as the Lord here says, 
" By chance there came down a certain priest that way." And 
in that case the word has an objectionable meaning. We also 
speak of chance, however, when a thing happens which seems 
to us contrary to the plan and intention of God, and then the 
word is a mere word. We speak of necessity when the weary 
veteran, after the eyes — the windows of sense — have been 
closed, and the door of the mouth seldom opens, and the grey 
head has long worn the livery of death, dies by the decay of 
nature. For we perceive that there is a plan and design in the 
mowing down of the grain when it has reached maturity, and 
in the discharge of the labourer from the field when his blunted 
tools are of no further use. When, however, the youth is un- 
expectedly snatched away, by such a casualty as the fall, per- 
haps, of a tile from the roof; when the goodly framework is 
shattered before the spirit it contained has unfolded its wings, 
— we then speak of chance, because we do not here see the 
divine purpose. 

Agar, the son of Jakeh, affirms of himself that he was the 
most foolish of the sons of men. 1 I think, however, I could 
mention several of the sons of men in whose favour he would 
be forced to resign his vain boast. Among others, I allude to 
those wiseacres who opine that the limit of all thought and 

1 Prov. xxx. 1. 2. 



25. The disposing of the Lot is of the Lord. 143 

knowledge is where their thoughts begin to run dry. But very- 
poor indeed would we, the children of men, be, if what we 
cannot see did not, for that reason, exist. No : in a world 
of which it has been said, " Thou hast ordered all things in 
measure, number, and weight" 1 there is no room for chance. 
Strange may be the way in which the lot is cast into our lap ; 
but whether it be cast by visible or invisible hands, whether 
suddenly or so slowly that we can see it come, whether at the 
side or from above or from below, whether plentifully or spar- 
ingly — it is always cast exactly as the Lord wills. So long as 
we are at school and belong to a class, where, in the noble 
science of arithmetic as in all other things, we can never 
advance beyond piecework, chance must always appear to us 
to play a large part in God's world ; and when we are told that 
all things in it are ordered by measure, number, and weight, we 
may believe that it is so, but we are quite unable to work the 
calculation. Now there are, first of all, men of foolish minds, 
who have their hands so full of work that they can find no 
leisure to count or measure, and so they cannot but run foul of 
chance in every street of this great city of God. 

A fool believes not this, but says 
That everything by chance takes place ; 
As all his life he never knows 
A reason for one thing he does. 

And, moreover, as there are also men of vain minds who 
actually imagine that they have reached the extreme limit of 
all wit when they have got to the end of their own, it is no 
wonder that such witlings are every moment knocking their 
foot against chance, for they are better pleased that the wisdom 
which made the world should be considered defective, than 
that such a charge should be brought against theirs. Whoever 
is big with vanity will bring forth lies. But methinks it ought 
to delight the hearts of persons so very wise to be told that 
their knowledge is still imperfect ; for does not that afford a 
ground of hope that when that which is perfect is come, there 

1 Wisdom of Solomon, xi. 20. 



144 2 5- The disposing of the Lot is of the Lord. 

will be much that is new and beautiful for them to learn ? 
How strange that it should be so hard to convince them that 
the last day will show measure and number and weight in much 
that appears mere casualty and peradventure, seeing that even 
here on earth time makes so many discoveries of the sort ! To 
give an instance : It happened that two persons were once 
travelling along a highway, one of whom was a devotee of 
chance, and a powerful advocate of her cause. The other, 
who was a believer in the wisdom which "has ordered all 
things in measure, number, and weight," took occasion, as if 
unintentionally, to call the attention of his philosophic com- 
panion to the fact that the trees upon the right side of the 
road were much larger and stronger than those upon the left, 
and spoke of it as a manifest freak of chance. The philosopher 
at once assented, when, behold, it was observed that the road 
declined on the left, and so the trees there got less of the sun 
than those upon the right. How much less of chance would 
there be in the world if man had only fewer casual and narrow 
thoughts ! 

Waste not thy pains to reach the ground ; 

When the- snow melts it will be found. 

Even contingencies cannot be taken out of the hand of God 
and put into that of another, for we see how often the wisest 
plans miscarry ; while a particle of dust falling from a wall, or 
a cloud passing before the sun, decides events of the greatest 
moment. It happened by chance that the priest, the Levite, 
and the Samaritan came down that way ; but if the Samaritan 
had not passed by, a human life would have been lost. When 
Napoleon was returning from Egypt to France, Nelson was on 
the watch for him, and even lay for a while with his whole fleet 
close to the two ships of the fugitive. A thick fog, however, 
settled down between them ; and had it not been for that fog, 
the state of the world would have been different from what 
it now is. In solemn grandeur the ancient avalanches lie 
couched on the icy mountain-tops, and repose from year to 
year, until, perhaps, the wing of a bird, as it flies quickly past, 



25. The disposing of the Lot is of the Lord. 145 

touches them, and by their fall some thousands of human 
beings lose their lives. It is true that little touches do not 
make great revolutions, and that as little do trivial incidents 
hinder them. It is true that the avalanche must have been 
accumulating for many a year if it was to destroy the city; 
and that Napoleon must have been the man he was if the fog 
was to change the condition of the world. Still the touch of 
the bird's wing and the curtain of fog were likewise necessary 
to bring about the issue. 

The men who decide the fate of the world are the readiest 
to acknowledge that what they call destiny or chance gives the 
turn to the scales. Napoleon often said of himself that no man 
could believe more firmly in Providence than he. But if it had 
been in Providence that he believed, he would have fallen 
upon his knees and presented to it the humble oblation of his 
gratitude. What he really believed in was destiny ; and, there- 
fore, to that blind power he offered himself as its favourite. 
Those men, however, who have weighty matters committed to 
their hands, and who are acquainted with the King of kings, 
all readily make the confession that, " Except the Lord build 
the house, they labour in vain who build it : except the Lord 
keeps the city, the watchman waketh but in vain. It is vain 
for you to rise up early, to sit up late, to eat the bread of 
sorrows, for He giveth it to His beloved, while asleep." * 

If all things in the world are ordered in measure and 
number, no single one can be excepted ; otherwise the whole 
will fall to pieces, or at least lose its harmony, just as happens 
in a well - constructed building. For this reason it is that 
sacred Scripture so often sets forth that adversity as well as 
prosperity, evil as well as good, are under the divine control. 
" I form the light, and create darkness : I make peace, and 
create evil : I the Lord do all these things." 2 " Shall there be 
evil in a city," exclaims another prophet, " and the Lord hath 
not done it?" 3 In like manner, in the New Testament, our 
Lord and His apostles, speaking of the blackest of crimes, 

1 Psalm cxxvii. i, 2 — Luther's vers. 2 Isa. xlv. 7. 3 Amos, iii. 6. 

K 



146 25. The disposing of the Lot is of the Lord. 

declare that all is done according to the council of God. For 
thus it is written : " Of a truth against Thy holy child Jesus, 
whom Thou hast anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, 
with the Gentiles and the people of Israel, were gathered 
together, for to do whatsoever Thy hand and Thy council 
determined before to be done." 1 The predictions of the Old 
Testament prophets, and those of our Lord in the New, are a 
clear testimony that all things, the small and the great alike, 
are under the divine inspection. How shortsighted is man ! 
Because he himself is unable to grasp the little with the great, 
he fancies that the same must be the case with the everlasting 
God. But would the Eternal be so great as He is, if by reason 
of His greatness He necessarily lost sight of the little ? Could 
the world justly be called a masterpiece of art if the same artist 
whose hand is visible in the vast did not also show itself in the 
minute. I never see one of those ancient cathedrals — where 
even the lowest edge of the groundsel is elaborated in the 
same spirit and with the same affectionate pains as the tower 
which shoots aloft into the heavens — without perceiving in it 
a likeness to the work of the great Architect of the world. 
Here, too, it may be said — 

If imaged in the smallest part it be, 

You then the beauty of the whole will see. 

No ; He must be great in what is little as well as in what is 

large. 

The daisy on the mountain sod, 

Withdrawn from human view, 
Was planted by the hand of God, 

The hand that fashioned you. 

That flower His care protects whose call 

Did countless worlds create ; 
By condescending to the small, 

He proves that he is great. 

. I will not, then, try to measure the Eternal by the standard of 
my own little eye; and although, amidst the conflict of the forces 
and beings in the world, my ear has not as yet been opened to 

iActs, iv. 27, 28. 



2 5 . The disposing of the Lot is of the L ord. 1 47 

catch that harmony in which they all join, I yet will not dispute 
that it exists. I figure to myself a deaf man suddenly, and for 
the first time, brought within sight of a great orchestra, and 
observing the busy movements of the hands and feet, and the 
sweat upon the faces of the musicians, and all for nothing, and 
I reflect how absurd it would appear to him. We men occupy 
the same position with respect to the universe. Oh, when I 
shall one day know Him even as I am known, and perceive 
through the vast creation the measure, number, and weight 
according to which all things are ordered, and how the least of 
them is connected and in concord with the greatest, what a 
blessed harmony it will be, and how it will regale my soul 
through all eternity ! 

Eternal God, in their majestic courses 

Circle Thy suns through yon far realms of blue ; 

Myriads of stars, called from their unseen sources, 
Thou scatterest o'er ether's plains like dew. 

Yes, Thou art very great, and lowly I 
. Bend in the dust to think how great Thou art ; 
Yet, Lord, 'tis not Thy glorious majesty 

That calms the throbbing of my anxious heart. 

But that — while all the morning stars adore Thee, 

And the angelic host Thy praises hymn — 
While in their burning ranks arrayed before Thee, 

Cast at Thy feet their crowns the Seraphim,— 

Thou to the insects' song aloft ascending, 
Thou to the prayer which humble hearts express, 

A father's kind and pitying ear art lending — 
This to my soul gives all its happiness. 



II. 



ffltym daitfe i\z \tvat to f Q% § mrwals, 
cJfttU mattg a flata its tljarm wheals. 



26. The Lord is my Shepherd. 151 



26. 

Myself I coitld not guide, 

Helpless and blind ; 
And so to wiser hands 

The charge resigned. 

Psalm xxiii. 1. " The Lord is my shepherd ; I shall not 
want." 

THESE words were uttered by David in the days of his 
youth, when he still kept the flock of his father Jesse, 
led them by the still waters and green pastures, and protected 
them with his staff. He then came to understand that what he 
was to his flock, that to him was his faithful God. How great 
a grace it is for a man no longer to stand alone in the world, 
but to know in whom he believes ! For long I seemed to 
myself to be like a lost sheep, and knew not who should be 
my guide. Now, however, with the deepest consciousness of 
having found rest, I can say, " The Lord is my Shepherd? and 
what then is there that can do me harm ? I have reached 
the haven, and no storm shall ever again drive my. little bark 
into the open sea. Nay, even looking forward through all 
futurity, I take up the words of David and affirm, " I shall not 
want!' Oh, at how high a price would unbelievers be glad to 
purchase a confidence like this ! Yes ; could they but figure 
to themselves the deep inward calm of the soul which has found 
its rest in God, they would all become Christians ! 

Verse 2. "He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: 
He leadeth me beside the still waters." 



152 26. T^he Lord is my Shepherd. 

I travelled along a broad highway, and so great was the dust 
and turmoil that my soul grew weary. Many a time did I look 
to the right hand and the left for some turn of the road, but I 
was hurried onward by the tumultuous crowd and could scarcely 
retain my self-possession. At length the heavenly Friend 
sought me amidst the crowd, led me out by secret ways from 
the throng, and brought me to a lone and verdant meadow, 
and to the banks of still waters. And oh it is good to be there ! 
I have learned what is the blessedness of the soul when it rests 
in God, and thereby becomes calm. " Study to be quiet," 1 
saith the apostle ; and the prophet affirms that " in quietness 
and confidence shall be your strength." 2 Yes ; there is strength 
in this quietness in God, — this composure in which all the vital 
spirits are gathered in, — a strength of which he who hurries 
along the broad and dusty highway can form no conception. 
The pastures on which the soul is here regaled are ever green. 
The holy truths seem every day fresh to the mind, continually 
present new aspects, and always, in a variety of ways, become 
a food and a staff, a balm and a buckler in life. They retain 
perpetually their youth and verdure. 

Verse 3. " He restoreth my soul : He leadeth me in the 
paths of righteousness for His name's, sake." 

And wherefore does He exercise towards me a love and grace 
so great and manifold ? It is not for my own sake, and on that 
account I rejoice. For were it otherwise, I would live in con- 
tinual fear that my ingratitude and unprofitableness might 
exhaust His patience. It is for His own name's sake that He 
is so kind to me, and this gives my hope a firm support. His 
name, as He revealed it even to Moses, was " The Lord God 
merciful and gracious, long-suffering, and abundant in goodness 
and truth." 3 Is not that a beautiful name ? Surely when He 
means to do honour to it, we may count upon much patience 
and long-suffering, and reckon that even great ingratitude and 

1 1 Thess. iv. 11. 2 Isa. xxx. 15. Exod. xxxiv. 6. 



26, The Lord is my Shepherd. 153 

unfruitf ulness on our side will not exhaust His mercy. The 
name, too, is not of our giving — it is one which Zfehas revealed 
to us, and that surely should silence our doubts. I know now 
that He will never depart from me, even though I might be 
willing to forsake Him ; and were I plunged ever so deep in 
the abyss I should still confidently exclaim, Lord, Thou canst 
not forsake me— for Thy name's sake Thou canst not forsake 
me. My life, when brought to a close, like that of millions 
more, will be a great and imperishable testimony that we have 
indeed a God who is merciful and gracious, long-suffering, and 
abundant in goodness and truth. 

Verse 4. " Yea, though I walk through the valley of the 
shadow of death, I will fear no evil : for Thou art with 
me ; Thy rod and Thy staff they comfort me." 

The path even of those who have found the one good Shep- 
herd often lies through a strait and rocky valley, where the 
overarching cliffs intercept the light of the sun and cast a cold 
shadow upon the traveller. But even in the gloom, even when 
bereft of the light of the sun, I am not afraid ; I know that 
though I do not see it the sun is still above my head, — " Thou 
art with me." Oh what mountains of anxiety this simple 
thought removes at once from the heart, and what tempests it 
disperses ! 

Thick darkness may enshroud me, 

And bitter sorrow smart, 
And pain and care and terror 

Burn in my troubled heart ; 

But Thou art with me, Lord : 

And that most firm belief, 
Which none can take away, 

Gives to my soul relief. 

What is it that can reign as blessedness within the soul, and 
be to it bright sunshine while all is dark around ? It is faith, 
and only the faith which " endures as seeing that which is in- 
visible." Help me, gracious God, that the eyes of my soul 



154 2 6- The Lord is my Shepherd. 

may, even through the thickest darkness, discern the faithful 
rod and staff that are wielded over me. 



Verse 5. " Thou preparest a table before me in presence of 
mine enemies : Thou anointest my head with oil ; my cup 
runneth over." 

Yes, only let God be mine, and let His presence refresh my 
soul, and I can be joyful in the face of all enemies. How a 
true and heartfelt sense of the nearness of God can often make 
us unspeakably calm and patient even when our adversaries 
are raging most fiercely around ! Seasons like these are hours 
of tuition which God gives to man, and the lessons which we 
then learn are never forgotten in all our future life. We then 
feel so independent of the world and of all the creatures, and 
as if we stood loose from everything else and were solely in the 
hand of our God. Thus stood the Saviour before His judge 
when He answered him, "Thou couldst have no power at all 
against me except it were given thee from above." * Accord- 
ing to the Psalmist's description, a man is then as if he were 
sitting at a well-furnished board, his head anointed with oil, 
and drinking cup after cup of the peace of God, while his ene- 
mies are toiling and raging around him. Or, as Luther says 
of himself, " That amidst their noise and tumult he, in the name 
of his God, sat still and sung his hymn." The world cannot 
understand such resignation of self into the divine hand, and 
is often exasperated by it ; but sometimes also its hostility is 
thereby softened. 

And how true likewise are the Psalmist's words with refer- 
ence to inward adversaries ! Even in our bosoms storms may 
rage, and yet in the face of all enemies the cup of consolation 
and joy is filled for us to the brim, and our head anointed with 
spiritual oil. This is the case when we can unfeignedly say, 
Notwithstanding I am still His child, He cannot forsake me, 

1 John, xix. 11. 



26. The Lord is my Shepherd. 155 

for " before the foundation of the world He hath made me ac- 
cepted in the Beloved." x Then takes place what the Psalmist 
describes when he says, " In the multitude of my thoughts 
within me Thy comforts delight my soul." There is a host of 
foes in the believer's breast, but there is also there a strong 
tower to which he can flee for refuge. 

Verse 6. " Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all 
the days of my life : and I will dwell in the house of the 
Lord for ever." 

Yes, it is not for a few fleeting years that I have found Him. 
The decision I made was for all eternity when I consecrated 
to Him my heart. How should I depart from Him, seeing 
that every day confirms me in the assurance that in finding 
Him I have found the very life of my life ? He, my generous 
Lord, has made me an inmate of His house- — that great house 
which is built upon the foundation of prophets and apostles, 
Jesus Christ being the chief corner-stone, and which reaches 
into eternity. Ought I to be insensible to the high honour 
which He has thereby conferred upon me ? Ah me ! was I 
not one of the cripples without upon the streets whom He sent 
His servants to seek and invite into His house and to His 
supper ? 2 " How amiable are Thy tabernacles, O Lord of 
hosts ! my soul longeth, yea, even fainteth for the courts of 
the Lord : my heart and my flesh crieth out for the living God. 
Yea, the sparrow hath found an house, and the swallow a nest 
for herself, where she may lay her young, even Thine altars, O 
Lord of hosts, my King and my God. Blessed are they that 
dwell in Thy house : they will be still praising Thee. Selah." 3 
Such was the song of the Psalmist ; and now that my soul has 
found a resting-place in the Church, that living temple of my 
God, I too repeat the strain. It is good to dwell in His house, 
good to be permitted to dwell even in the remotest corner of 
1 Eph. i. 4-6. 2 Luke, xiv. 21. 3 Psalm lxxxiv. 1-4. 



156 26. The Lord is my Shepherd. 

it ; I know that I have not deserved a place of honour, and 
oh how good it is to know likewise that He will never cast 
me out, if I do not go of my own accord! but, grateful to Him, 
I will gladly dwell in it from eternity to eternity. 

Beneath Thy gentle care, O Shepherd dear, 
My soul a rest has found that ne'er shall cease ; 

E'en to the grave Thy staff will guard me here, 
And guide me to my Father's house in peace. , 

I strayed a wild tumultuous road along, 
My mind not less tumultuous than the way : 

Thou didst me seek, and from the bustling throng 
By paths unseen to this lone mead convey. 

blest retreat ! the blue deep overhead 

With longings strange and sweet the bosom fills, 
While, wafting fragrance through the flowery glade, 
A vernal air the bosom's longing stills. 

Rich is the banquet both for heart and eye, 
As, varying still their hues by night and day, 

A world of flowers, like sparkling jewelry, 
Their opening loveliness around display. 

When shines the sun aloft without a cloud, 

His smile evokes a pomp of colours bright ! 
Or if in gloom his radiant face he shroud, 

Sweet violets shed their perfume through the night. 

How dear to me the calm, so deep and still, 
After the din and tumult of the past ! 

1 feel that undivided now my will 
Shall rest in Thine, O Shepherd dear, at last. 



2J. The Vinedresser purgeth the Vine. 157 

27. 

&jje Vinztixzmzx purgetjj t|je Uttte. 

H^Aj/ ar/ M<?&, friend, so much surprised f 

Sure, 'tis no strange event, , 
If, born again the child of Christ, 

Thou shouldst to SCHOOL be sent: 
At school a child is tutored best, 

As all the world allow ; 
And schools in which the ROD is missed 

Are furnished ill, I trow. 

John, xv. 1, 2. " I am the true vine, and my Father is the 
husbandman. Every branch in me that beareth not fruit, 
He taketh away ; and every branch that beareth fruit He 
purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit." 

WHILE yet without a Saviour, I was like a wild flower 
in the open field, or a tree in the desert, which has 
none to bind its boughs when broken by the storm — none to 
moisten its roots in the time of drought — a poor forsaken 
plant, exposed as a prey to the storms of heaven and to the 
cattle that roam the plain. Now, however, He has in love and 
faithfulness transplanted me from the field into His garden, 
fulfilling the promise, " I will make an everlasting covenant 
with them, that I will not turn away from them, to do them 
good ; but I will put my fear in their hearts, that they shall 
not depart from me. Yea, I will rejoice over them to do them 
good, and I will plant them in this la7id, assuredly with my 
whole heart and with my whole soul." 1 Oh how skilful a 
Gardener, who has converted useless weeds into trees of right- 
eousness and pleasant plants ! Now that at last I grow in so 
good a soil, and am trained by so wise a hand, I know for 
certain that storm and tempest, rain and sunshine, will all be 
for my good ! 

1 Jer. xxxii. 40, 41. 



158 2J. The Vinedresser purgeth the Vine. 

When I look around upon the flowers and plants of the 
garden, that which first strikes my eye is their great variety ; 
and yet, various though they be, they all bear a distinguishing 
mark by which they are known. We see upon them the sign 
of the Cross. But for this it might be supposed of many that 
they did not belong to the place, so strange and diverse are 
they both in perfume and colour. 

O best of Gardeners, beyond all compare, 
Thy flowers Thou trainest with so faithful care ; 
Many there are of various kinds and hue, 
Yet each receives the special culture due. 

This is what next excites my wonder : Plants of different 
kinds require different modes of cultivation. One needs to have 
the rain in spring, another in summer ; this the morning and 
that the noontide sun ; some must be supported with stakes, 
and some can stand alone ; and in many other respects they 
differ; and yet, in the garden of the Lord, not a single plant 
but receives its own peculiar culture. How manifold are the 
methods by which at first He brings us into His garden ; and 
afterwards, when we have taken root, with what singular skill 
and care He treats us ! It is this that gives the marvel and 
the charm to the assemblies of the children of God. They 
are all in one room, and yet each has entered it by a. different 
door. They all stand before the throne and see His face, and 
yet each sees it on a different side. Even of the Church upon 
earth we may say that in the Father's house there are many 
mansions ; and if so, never ought the right of any member to 
his place to be called in question, whatever may be his colour, 
provided only that he bears the imprint of the Cross. Like 
anemones which are of different hues, white, red, and blue, 
but which all in common show a black spot, the flowers in the 
garden of Jesus are variously tinted and streaked, but all show 
the mark of that bloody Bridegroom who loved them even 
unto death, and has signed them with His Cross. If a man 
be in the land of promise, Christians ought never to inquire 



27. The Vinedresser purgeth the Vine. 159 

whether he found his way to it across the Isthmus or through 
the Red Sea. 

Full many flowers, in my Lord's garden blooming, 

Their loveliness display ; 
Of varied shape, hue, kind, the air perfuming, 

They stand in bright array. 

How with their beauty is the eye delighted, 

That loves God's hand to trace ! 
How glows in all, by skill divine ignited, 

Some sweet peculiar grace ! 

There grows simplicity, here faith, and holy 

Wisdom and patience there 
Beside the cross, with truth and meekness lowly, 

And beauty everywhere. 

This wrought the one same Spirit, and He did it 

As to Himself seemed meet ; 
And when each flower shall in its place be fitted, 

The wreath will be co?nplete. 

To the work of the planter belongs that also of weeding, 
pruning off the dry shoots and branches, and digging about 
the roots ; all of which the heavenly Husbandman patiently 
performs. We are told in this parable that He purgeth the 
fruitful branch that it may bring forth more fruit ; and it is said 
of the barren fig-tree, elsewhere, that He let it alone for a year, 
and allowed the dresser of the vineyard to dig about it and 
dung it, if perchance it might then become fruitful. A regen- 
erate man is not for that reason already a sanctified one. The 
new birth is nothing else than for the person who was as a 
wild tree in the field, to be transplanted by faith and love into 
the garden of Jesus, and there to obtain better soil, a milder 
atmosphere, and a more careful culture. The regenerate 
Christian is like a babe which has been born into a new and 
beautiful world, but in which it has still to grow and ripen 
unto manhood: and this it cannot fail to do, now that it 
breathes so pure an air, has so gentle a heaven above, pleasant 
fruits on which to feast within its reach, and a faithful motherly 
love continually at its side. We ought not, then, to be sur- 
prised when we find that even the regenerate child of man 



i6o 27. The Vinedresser purgeth the Vine. 

resembles less a garden with only beautiful flowers than a 
garden with many a weed; or rather that he is a vine which 
needs to have its rank shoots pruned off. It is with him who 
has been born again as is often to be seen in Alpine regions at 
the rising of the sun : around the peak and lofty crest of the 
mountains, a beautiful warm light settles down ; while in the 
valleys beneath, snow-wreaths and chilly shadows lie, and lie 
so long. Alas ! how long do such wreaths and shadows also 
lie in the depths of even a regenerate heart ! Especially how 
deep a seat do certain bosom sins acquire, which, although 
they seem only something isolated — such, perchance, as im- 
patience, self-will, want of order and punctuality, vanity — still, 
if permitted to grow unchecked, threaten extinctio7i to the infant 
life of the new man ! The whole strength of the vine may run 
into two or three shoots, and make it unfruitful. A godly man 
has made the remark, that by deliberately yielding to even one 
fault we subvert the whole fabric of Christianity, and that to 
do so is as when a master suffers a single rafter of his house 
to fall into decay. Now this is a matter in respect of which 
many Christians are under a delusion. We are less clear- 
sighted to our own darling sins than others are, who yet dare 
not tell them to us. And so, many live on from day to day, the 
rafter all the while becoming more and more frail. The thought 
of this will sometimes suggest itself, and conscience begin 
gently to knock. But how quickly do a host of excuses, like 
the officious menials of some despotic lord, present themselves 
and exclaim, " Who knocks there? Silence !" and all is quiet 
again. There is no task so hard as for a man to take arms 
against himself. Beware then of excuses. They perform the 
part of sponsors at the baptisms of the devil. 

Far-fetched pretexts and reasonings, 
Are fickle and deceptive things : 
Give to Thy soul's monition heed — 
Who spares himself 'will not succeed. 

Now, because he knows how hard it is for a man to use 
violence against himself, the heavenly Husbandman is pleased, 



28. He hath filled me with Bitterness. 161 

in His goodness, to do it in our stead. Sometimes He lops off 
the shoots from His vine, sometimes digs around His fig-tree, 
and sometimes transplants His flowers into another bed : and 
as the weak eye often does not know the rank shoots and 
weeds to be what they are, it is equally blind to the means He 
sees fit to employ for their extirpation. It may be quite a 
secret and inconsiderable cross, and yet it may work great 
effects upon the character. A slight which has been experi- 
enced, the failure of some petty enjoyment, a broken sleep, a 
misunderstanding with a friend, all these are things which, in 
the hand of the Gardener, may be used as instruments to era- 
dicate the weeds. Never then, O reader, open thy mouth 
against the Sovereign Disposer of all events, either on account 
of the great or the little crosses of thy life. Know that all is 
well ordered, and expressly calculated to heal thy infirmity. 
Wilt thou not so far put trust in Him ? Remember thine eye 
and thine understanding are no match for His. 

Unerring is His skill, 

Who undertakes Thy cure ; 
Though sharp the pain, be still, 

And patiently endure ; 
It matters not what instrument he wield, 
If thou be healed. 



28. 

$bz jjatjj fillet! me fcritjj Bitterness. 

Because thou art alone when sorrow lowers, 

Thy spirit faints with doubt and fear. 
Seek'st thou companions in thy gloomy hours ? 

Thou hast that comfort near. 
Of man's deep wretchedness and woe, 
None like the holy prophets know. 

Lam. iii. 15-39. "He hath filled me with bitterness, He 
hath made me drunken with wormwood. He hath also 
L 



1 62 28. He hath filled me with Bitterness. 

broken my teeth with gravel stones, He hath covered me 
with ashes. And Thou hast removed my soul far off from 
peace : I forgat prosperity. And I said, My strength and 
my hope is perished from the Lord : remembering mine 
affliction and my misery, the wormwood and the gall. 
My soul hath them still in remembrance, and is humbled 
in me. This I recall to my mind, therefore have I hope. 
It is of the Lord's mercies that we are not consumed, 
because His compassions fail not. They are new every 
morning : great is Thy faithfulness. The Lord is my 
portion, saith my soul; therefore will I hope in Him. 
The Lord is good unto them that wait for Him, to the 
soul that seeketh Him. It is good that a man should 
both hope and quietly wait for the salvation of the Lord. 
It is good for a man that he bear the yoke in his youth. 
He sitteth alone and keepeth silence, because he hath 
borne it upon him. He putteth his mouth in the dust, if 
so be there may be hope. He giveth his cheek to him 
that smiteth him : he is filled full with reproach. For the 
Lord will not cast off for ever : but though He cause 
grief, yet will He have compassion according to the mul- 
titude of His mercies. For He doth not afflict willingly, 
nor grieve the children of men. To crush under His feet 
all the prisoners of the earth, to turn aside the right of a 
man before the face of the Most High, to subvert a man 
in his cause, the Lord approveth not. Who is he that 
saith, and it cometh to pass, when the Lord commandeth 
it not ? Out of the mouth of the Most High proceedeth 
not evil and good ? Wherefore doth a living man com- 
plain, a man for the punishment of his sins ? " 

WHAT are all the heartbreaks and tribulation of which 
any of us have to complain, compared with what the 
witnesses for God in the olden times endured? The Lord 
bids us "rejoice, and be exceeding glad : for great," He says, 
" is your reward in heaven : for so persecuted they the prophets 



28. He hath filled me with Bitterness. 163 

which were before you ; " 1 and He thereby directs our atten- 
tion to the fact that as we are not the first, so neither also 
shall we be the last whose appointed lot it is to eat the bread of 
sorrow, whether in the Lord's cause or on some other account. 
As in the ark of the covenant, so upon His table the rod and 
the manna are placed side by side. 2 In this view it is like- 
wise consolatory to read in the Old Testament the histories 
of those worthies whom the Epistle to the Hebrews calls the 
cloud of witnesses, and in the nth chapter mentions byname. 

But above the rest, I have always found that my faith was 
greatly strengthened by reading the prophet Jeremiah. Truly 
he was a man of tears. Can any one hear without being 
deeply moved, when, for instance, at the commencement of 
the 9th chapter, he exclaims, " O that my head were waters, 
and mine eyes a fountain of tears, that I might weep day and 
night for the slain of the daughter of my people"? or when, in 
his Book of Lamentations, he bewails his lot in the passage 
cited as the text, and in a subsequent verse cries out, " Mine 
eye runneth down with rivers of water for the destruction of 
the daughter of my people : mine eye trickleth down, and 
ceaseth not without any intermission, till the Lord look down 
and behold from heaven " ? Think of the great personal suf- 
ferings, the unmeasured derision, the blows, the cruel imprison- 
ment, and all but a death by hunger, which he endured for the 
testimony he bore to the truth. 3 But little did he account of 
his own calamities when compared with those of his people. 
Yes, this prophet is the right master to teach us the duty of 
looking on the affliction of others as if it were our own. 

These Lamentations were written at the time when King 
Zedekiah, with his eyes put out and his limbs bound with 
fetters of brass, was dragged off to Babylon — when Jerusalem 
and the Temple were burned, the wall of the city laid level 
with the ground, and the whole population of the land, save 
some of the poorest class, carried away into captivity. It was 
then that the prophet took his seat upon the ruins of the city 
1 Matt. v. 12. 2 Heb. ix. 4. 3 Jer. xx. 37, 38. 



164 28. He hath filled me with Bitterness. 

which had once been " great among the nations, and a prin- 
cess among the provinces." 1 He had tarried behind with the 
poor remnant of the people ; but even from them he reaped 
only mockery and insult, and at length was obliged to accom- 
pany them on their flight to Egypt, although assuring them at 
the time that the strong arm of Nebuchadnezzar would reach 
them even there. "I was a derision," he says, "to all my 
people, and their song all the day." 2 We see from this that 
even strong-minded men like the prophets knew the bitterness 
and temptation of despair no less than we, the weakly children 
of an effeminate age. And surely in the fellowship of their 
tears there is strong consolation. O heaven ! is it possible 
that a man like Jeremiah could cry out : " Ever since I spake, 
and cried, and preached of violence and spoil, the word of the 
Lord has been made a reproach unto me, and a derision daily. 
Then I said, / will not make mention of Him, nor speak any 
more in His name : but His word was in mine heart as a burning 
fire shut up in my bones, and I was weary with forbearing, and 
I could not stay " 1 Is it possible that such a man of faith could 
curse, like Job, the day of his birth, and say, " Would that He 
had slain me from the womb, or that my mother might have 
been my grave " ? 3 

I always supposed that seasons in which the tempter thus 
fiercely assails the soul were a secret of my own history, and 
here I plainly read that such seasons were known even to God's 
holiest servants. And, doubtless, there are many of whom 
we least suspect it, and who yet are wading in the deep waters 
up to the throat. Blessed, therefore, be God for the comfort 
that I can extract from their lamentations. I now know with 
greater certainty than I ever hoped for, that even when we 
feel the bitter pain of temptation, and when Satan seems to be 
on the point of laying hands upon our souls, the mercy of the 
Lord does not fail. The Psalmist says it is new unto us every 
morning. "Weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh 
in the morning." 4 
1 Lam. i. 1. 2 Lam. iii. 14. 3 Jer. xx. 9, 17. 4 Psalm xxx. 5. 



28. He hath filled me with Bitterness. 165 

Yes, even in the darkest nights of tribulation an inward 
voice whispers that His compassion will reappear with the 
dawn. "Thou wilt remember these things," he here says, 
"for my soul telleth me." 1 Yes, my soul telleth me " that He 
doth not afflict willingly, nor grieve the children of men." 
And if He do it unwillingly, the correction, when it has 
accomplished its purpose, will come to an end. " Though He 
cause grief," saith the prophet, " yet will He have compassion, 
according to the multitude of His mercies." And again, " It 
is good that a man should both hope and quietly wait for the 
salvation of the Lord." Such are the words of this man of 
tears — of him who had preached for half a century, and con- 
tinually earned for his pains only fresh contradiction and in- 
gratitude; and, being his, they are words of experience, on 
which we can safely build. I too, therefore, will " put my 
mouth in the dust, if so there may be hope." 

Wait patiently the happy hour 

Ordained for thy relief, 
For come it surely will with power, 

And change to joy thy grief. 
Nay, more, to put to shame thy fear, 
When looked for least it will appear. 

All that the prophet suffered, he suffered from his fellow- 
men ; and when the Lord puts into human hands the rod of 
our chastisement, the chastisement is always worse to bear 
than when He keeps it in His own. And for this many rea- 
sons may be assigned. One is that when it is man who brings 
his brother into the furnace, it is less easy to think, according 
to the words of David, that " the Lord hath bidden him." In 
such cases, likewise, more than in others, the old Adam re- 
sists more stoutly, and therefore it is necessary always to bear 
in mind with Jeremiah, " Who is he that saith, and it comet h to 
pass, when the Lord commandeth it not ? " How precious a text 
this is ! It teaches us, in the first place, that all misfortunes, 
however insidious may be their attacks, are mere agents and 
1 Lam. iii. 20 — Luther's vers. 



1 66 28. He hath filled me with Bitterness. 

messengers of the Lord, compelled to subserve the execution 
of His purposes of love ; and as Luther says, " Well does the 
Lord know how to make one knave apply the rod to the back 
of another." What room, then, is there for hatred or malice 
in the breast of a Christian who looks upon even bitter ene- 
mies as messengers sent to him from God with a menace or a 
blow? In the second place, it instructs us to turn our eye 
away from the thoughts and intentions of all adversaries, and 
direct it to the thoughts of love cherished towards us by the 
Lord, according as David sings : " Thou preparest a table 
before me in the presence of mine enemies ; my cup runneth 
over." While they rage and storm, I am of good cheer, and 
say,— 

Full well I know that God's intent 
St Peter's self cannot prevent. 

Oh what a world of vexation are they spared who, under 
every cross which they suffer from the hands of men, think 
more of what the Lord than of what men intend to do ! 

Ye foes of mine, why take such pains to wound me and annoy? 
What are ye all but officers in our great God's employ? 
Bitter, indeed, would be my grief, unless full well I knew 
That God the surgeon is, and His mere instruments are you. 
O happy he who sees the threads of all that's said and done 
By man on earth meet in the hand of the Almighty One ! 

It would appear, then, that for man here upon earth the 
only misfortune is sin. Tell me, dear reader, what would it 
matter though sickness and poverty, the mockery and con- 
tempt of adversaries, and even death itself, were to assail thee, 
if thy heart were armed with the faith and patience of the saints, 
and if thou hadst learned quietly to wait, and trustfully and 
hopefully to humble thyself under the mighty hand of God ? 
What is it but sin that blackens affliction, or what is a mis- 
fortune to any man unless he regard it as such? Is not our 
bearing towards affliction that which makes it affliction at all ? 
"Wherefore doth a living man complain?" Let him co??iplain 
of his sin. Thou art poor, my brother, but why murmur at 



2g. Count it Joy when ye fall into Temptations. 167 

thy poverty, and not rather at thy discontented heart, which 
can never have enough ? Thy talents are few and small, but 
why wilt thou murmur at that, and not much more at the 
devil of pride, which cannot brook being numbered among 
those who are not " noble after the flesh " ? Thine enemies 
sorely vex thee, but why murmur against them, and not rather 
against thine own unbelieving heart, which will not be per- 
suaded that they can do nothing to thee but what the Lord 
bids them ? In short, among all the calamities of earth, only 
one is real, and that is sin. 

O Holy Spirit of the Lord, teach me the fear of sin. Thy 
will is that all Thy children should fear it more than suffering. 
When, however, I inquire at my inmost heart which of the two 
I dread the most, I find that I incline to be exempt from the 
assaults of affliction more than from the wiles of sin ; and, O 
Lord, so long as this is the case, I am not wholly Thine. 
Spirit of might ! subdue the infirmity of my flesh ; arm me 
with the strength which enabled the prophets of old to stand 
fast even when the floods overwhelmed their souls. O God, 
Thou art very rich — even now as rich as Thou wert in those 
days. All the many millions to whose penury Thou hast since 
been ministering with gift upon gift have not exhausted Thy 
treasures ; and well I know that if I supplicate Thee in earnest, 
Thou wilt not send me away empty. 



29. 

Count it Jog fcrfjnt ge Ml into temptations. 

Thou didst taste the cross, 
And find it Utter. Next time ponder well ; 
Perhaps "'twas not the KERNEL, but the SHELL. 

James, i. 1, 2. "James, a servant of God and of the Lord 
Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes which are scattered 



1 68 29. Count it Joy when ye fall into Temptations. 

abroad, greeting. My brethren, count it all joy when ye 
fall into divers temptations." 

HOW profitable it is to read the words of one who was 
connected by birth with the Lord of glory, and who 
afterwards became His spiritual brother and servant ! Not 
until after long resistance were James and John brought to 
acknowledge in Him who was brother to them after the flesh, 
their Lord and Master after the Spirit. Now, however, James 
can find for himself no nobler title than " servant of God and 
of the Lord Jesus Christ." The "greeting" means in the 
original, " Be of good cheer /" and was the customary form of 
salutation among the members of the infant Church. We find 
them using it towards each other under all circumstances, not 
even excepting temptations ; for the apostle here says, that 
when they fell into divers temptations, they were to count it 
all joy. Have I advanced so far ? True it is — and it is to 
Thee, O Grace Eternal ! that I am indebted for it — that I can 
often, in the midst of temptation, exult in the prospect of the 
time when " they that sow in tears shall reap in joy." And 
who has ever been able, in some blissful moments when the 
veil of the sanctuary was withdrawn, to catch a glimpse of the 
crown of life "which the Lord has promised to them that love 
Him," without exulting? 

How rich and full the banquet is, 

When to the soul is given 
To draw the curtain that divides 

This lower world from heaven I 

Then in the bosom all is calm, 

No cares or passions move ; 
While drops of the eternal light 

Fall gently from above. 

But to do what the apostle here requires — viz., to praise the 
Lord for the temptation itself — alas ! that is very hard. The 
medicine is still bitter to the taste, although we may know that 
it is the only effectual cure. To Thee, therefore, O crucified 



29. Count it Joy when ye fall into Temptations. 169 

Love, who didst willingly undergo so bitter sufferings on my 
account, I address my prayer, that Thou wouldst help me to 
overcome the antipathy to the cross which is so deeply seated 
in my flesh. At the same time I also know, that having 
Thyself, in the days of Thy flesh, prayed that the cup might 
pass from Thee, Thou wilt be to me a merciful High Priest, 
and have compassion on my infirmity. In the garden of 
Paradise, when man was in innocence, there grew no thorns 
to wound, and no wood of which to make a cross. These 
were prepared for him only when he had fallen ; and oh, 

Blame not the tears of those who pant to be 
Quit of the cross and all earth's misery. 

Verses 3, 4. " Knowing this, that the trying of your faith 
worketh patience. But let patience have her perfect 
work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing." 

In truth, from no scrutiny of the heart, however deep it may 
go, can we ascertain that we do believe. It is only trial that 
can teach us this. In the parable of the sower we are told 
that not " till the sun was up ' n was it discovered that the seed 
had no root ; and it is even so with faith. No man can know 
whether that noble plant has struck its roots in the better 
world, until the sun of tribulation has risen and shot down its 
scorching rays upon his head. Patience must have had her 
perfect work, must have endured unto the end, before all the 
fair virtues, which James calls fruits of the wisdom from above, 
can appear in the Christian's character, making him " pure, 
peaceable, gentle, and easy to be entreated, full of mercy and 
good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy." 2 I 
find in all Christians who have passed through much tribula- 
tion a certain quality of ripeness, which I am of opinion can 
be acquired in no other school. Just as a certain degree of 
solar heat is necessary to bring the finest sorts of fruit to per- 
fection, so is the fiery trial 3 indispensable for ripening the 

1 Matt. xiii. 6. 2 James, iii. 17. 3 1 Pet. iv. 12. 



170 29. Count it Joy when ye fall into Temptations. 

inner man. Claudius calls the Christian who has been sub- 
jected to it "the man with the moonbeam on his face." It is 
night that gives their brilliancy to the stars; and, in like 
manner, the night of adversity spreads over the countenance 
of the Christian who has endured it a strange cast, which 
bespeaks itself to be of the other world and enforces reverence. 
All this I well know, and there are times when the little cross 
upon my shoulder really does appear as if it were a wing given 
me by God to help me to soar aloft. But in other hours, 
when faith fails, it also seems to me as a heavy weight that 
bends me still nearer to the earth. Oh that on such occasions 
I could but rivet my eye upon the experience which Thou, O 
Heavenly Wisdom, hast enabled me to gather from the past ; 
for when didst Thou ever present me with a bitter fruit which 
was not at least sweet at the core ? When didst Thou .ever 
lead me into the wilderness without showing me a treasure 
there ? No, Lord, I must bear testimony that that Thou hast 
never done. And am I not then a weak and foolish child 
when I still distrust Thee ? 

Oh let the noble thought my heart elate, 
That all things ripen towards a perfect state, 
And that to quarrel with Heaven's high decree 
Is but to aggravate our misery. 
Come, teach me resignation ; though the worst 
To learn of all man's duties, 'tis the first. 

Verse 5. "If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, 
that giveth to all men with simplicity, 1 and upbraideth 
not j and it shall be given him." 

No doubt even tribulation, in and of itself, makes no man 
wise and good. He is not a Christian who merely wears the 
thorny crown. We must, on our own part, wisely improve 
tribulation, if by its means we are to acquire wisdom and 
advance to ripeness. To this end we need to pray to God for 
correct insight and a right deportment. And how unspeak- 
1 Luther's vers. 



29. Count it Joy when ye fallinto Temptations. 171 

ably sweet is the inducement to prayer which the apostle here 
holds out ! We men, when we give, rarely do it with simplicity ; 
we reflect too much in place of asking the single question, Can 
I in truth, with this boon of mine, mitigate a sorrow or wipe 
away a tear ? But oh, what a thought ! My God giveth with 
simplicity. All that He looks for on my part is sincerity of 
desire ; and if He find it, His heart and hand are opened wide. 
He upbraideth not. Repeat your visits too frequently to 
earthly benefactors, and though they be the best of men, they 
will upbraid you. Not so my God. To Him all may go, and 
all as often as they please, for He is rich imto all that call upon 
Him} What an encouragement to us to appear frequently as 
suppliants at His throne ! The candle does not emit a feebler 
ray for all the many tapers that are kindled at its flame ; and it 
is even so with the wealth of our God. All the creatures 
whom He has called into existence stand as beggars around 
His throne, and depart only to return ; and yet His hand of 
grace is never weary with giving. 

Verses 6, 7, 8. " But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. 
For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with 
the wind and tossed. For let not that man think that he 
shall receive anything of the Lord. A double-minded 
man is unstable in all his ways." 

This passage has made many a reader afraid. I myself 
remember the time when I did not venture to pray, because 
methought I wavered. And yet I became aware that wavering 
makes a man unhappy ; that when he does not surely know 
what he believes, he knows as little what he does, and becomes 
unstable in all his ways. It is only a steadfast faith that can 
give steadfastness to the walk. Is it not clear, however, that 
he who sincerely desires to believe is already a believer? He 
who would fain believe that the little flag descried on the 
distant horizon may prove a bark hastening to rescue him from 

1 Rom. x. 12. 



172 29. Count it Joy when ye fall into Temptations. 

the waves with which he struggles, begins to hope. And what 
is hope but faith looking to the good things to come ? There are 
persons of whom the Apostle Paul speaks as being apprehended 
of Christ before Christ has been apprehended of them. And 
such is the case of the man who wishes to believe, but finds 
that he cannot. Faith has apprehended him ere he is con- 
scious of it, or has on his part apprehended faith. Augustus 
Herman Franke once, at a time when his faith wavered, 
uttered the prayer, "O God, if a God there be, manifest Thy- 
self to me." Surely we may say, that unless God had appre- 
hended him, the holy man could never have prayed in such 
terms. Now that I am aware of this, I boldly persevere in 
prayer, even when my faith is weak. On these occasions the 
prayer I offer is that of the suppliant father, " Lord, I believe ; 
help Thou mine unbelief ." Y How beautiful a prayer, and how 
far it carries us on ! In praying it, I have learned that " who- 
soever hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have more abun- 
dance." He who ventures anything into the hands of God 
gains a prize, and one ^commensurate with his stake. Of all 
lotteries this is the best. 

O Lord, well do I know that the trials Thou appointest are 
a boon of Thy grace ; provided only that on our part there be 
no lack of faith. Be it mine, therefore, patiently to endure, 
however hotly the sun of tribulation may shine. I know that 
it will serve to ripen my faith. Vouchsafe to me wisdom so to 
improve affliction, as that the ends for which it is allotted to 
me may be answered. Despise not the oblation, though all 
the faith I can present is but as a grain of mustard-seed. On 
the surface of my soul the billows may often roll to and fro, 
but within there is a calm. Deep in the core of my being I 
cleave unto Thee. Wholly to belong to Thee, whether that 
end be reached by the way of suffering or enjoyment, is the 
inmost passion of my heart. " Lord, I believe ; help Thou 
mine unbelief." 

1 Mark, ix. 24. 



30. I earnestly remember my Son. 173 

30. 

3E earnestly rxmemfot mrj Son, 

Too heavy are the strokes of God, 

I hear thee, friend, complain, 
As if He loved to use the rod, 

And did not heed thy pain. 

Ah 710! He feels of every blow 

As well as thou the smart ; 
A?id would st thou but thy sins forego, 

He with the rod would part. 

Jer. xxxi. 15-20. " Thus saith the Lord, A voice was heard 
in Ramah, 1 lamentation and bitter weeping ; Rachel weep- 
ing for her children, refused to be comforted for her chil- 
dren, because they were not. Thus saith the Lord, Refrain 
thy voice from weeping, and thine eyes from tears : for 
thy work 2 shall be rewarded, saith the Lord ; and they 
shall come again from the land of the enemy. And there 
is hope in thine end, saith the Lord, that thy children 
shall come again to their own border. I have surely 
heard Ephraim bemoaning himself thus ; Thou hast chas- 
tised me, and I was chastised, as a bullock unaccustomed 
to the yoke : turn Thou me, and I shall be turned ; for 
Thou art the Lord my God. Surely after that I was turned, 
I repented ; and after that I was instructed, I smote upon 
my thigh : 3 I was ashamed, yea, even confounded, because 
I did bear the reproach of my youth. Is (not) Ephraim 
my dear son ? is he (not) a pleasant child ? for since I 
spake against him, I do earnestly remember him still : 
therefore my bowels are troubled for him : I will surely 
have mercy upon him, saith the Lord." 

1 The Jews passed through Ramah when led captive to Babylon.— Jer. 
xl. 1. 

2 Trouble. 3 Sign of mourning. — Ezek. xxi. 12. 



174 3°- I earnestly remember my Son. 

RACHEL, the great representative mother of the race 
of Israel, mourned and wept when her children were 
being led away captive to Babylon ; but simultaneously with 
the voice of her weeping, the prophetic word of consolation is 
heard announcing that when the Lord should have accom- 
plished the purposes of His heart towards His people, their 
affliction should cease, and their work be fully rewarded. 

When a man has learned to recognise the image of himself 
in Israel, that nation with the iron neck and brazen brow, how 
do the narratives of the Old Testament become rousing calls 
and mighty hammer-strokes to his obdurate heart ! There is 
a fiery severity in the God who of old, whenever His people 
waxed proud, led them forth into the wilderness; and that 
fiery severity we too ought to feel when He leads us into the 
wilderness now. I find that a sense of it helps greatly to 
alleviate every tribulation. We become aware that God is 
concerned about us, and that itself is tasting that He is near ; 
for there is a vast difference between merely feeling the smart 
of the scourge upon our back and seeing besides the human, 
or rather the divine, hand that wields it. He has not given 
me up, is the thought that first suggests itself to my mind, 
when I begin to be sensible of the zeal of my God, breathed 
forth from my tribulation. I then exclaim with the prophet, 
" Lord of Hosts, great in counsel and mighty in work, Thine 
eyes are open on all the ways of the sons of men, to give 
every one according to his ways, and according to the fruit of 
his doings." 1 It is sweet to read that " the eyes of the Lord 
are upon the righteous, and His ears are open to their cry." 2 
But it is sweet also to read, " I will set my eyes upon them 
for evil, and not for good." 3 Yes, even in that there is con- 
solation in the end ; for if by the rigour of His chastisements 
God does not forsake the ungodly man,, though the ungodly 
man may forsake Him, there is love involved in His justice. 
How beautifully this is expressed even in that passage of the 
Old Testament Scriptures where, by the mouth of Moses, the 
1 Jer. xxxii. 19. 2 Psalm xxxiv. 15. 3 Amos, ix. 4. 



30. I earnestly remember my Son. 175 

Lord upbraids Israel, reminding her how he had humbled her 
for forty years in the wilderness, and proved her, in order to 
know " what was in her heart." We read, " Thou shalt also 
consider in thine heart that as a man chasteneth his son, so also 
shall the Lord my God chasten thee?' 1 And no less beautifully 
does the Lord express it in the passage before us : " Is (not) 
Ephraim my dear son ? is he (not) a pleasant child ? for since 
I spake against him, I do earnestly remember him still : there- 
fore my bowels are troubled for him : I will surely have mercy 
upon him, saith the Lord." 

Yes, thou God of Love, Thy wayward son is still dear to 
Thee, is still Thy pleasant child. What, then, although Thou 
chasten him ? we still can see how truly it is written of Thee 
that the Lord doth not afflict willingly, nor grieve the children 
of men. 2 Still may he who recognises the intention of Thy 
penalties aver, — 

Love is Thy nature's essence, and the source 

From which alone flows Thy severity. 

Yes, well may Thy children so say ; for if it be with sorrow of 
heart that Thou correctest them, the blows Thou inflictest fall 
upon Thyself, and our wounds are also Thine. Oh then, how 
wondrously the magnitude of Thy love is manifested to us in 
Thy severest strokes ! 

Yes, in the very rigour with which Thou visitest, in order to 
reclaim, the sinner, there is love concealed; and no sooner 
does the soul learn to taste that love than Thy corrections 
appear wondrously sweet and good. Yes, dear reader, even 
the chastisements of the Lord may become manna to thee, 
and make thee say — 

I do not see the rod, 

Only the hand I see 
Which so much care bestowed 

On wayward child like me. 
The rod is bitter food ; 

But passing sweet the love 
Which wisely wields it for my good 

When I rebellious prove. 



1 Deut. viii. 5. 2 Lam. iii. 33. 



176 3°- I earnestly remember my Son. 

The Saviour says, " My meat is to do the will of Him that 
sent me." To suffer the will of God is likewise a meat on which, 
under affliction, our inner man may feed from day to day. 
Yes, my soul, mark well the word — it is meat to suffer the will 
of God. If, then, with enfeebled limbs thou be stretched upon 
a sick-bed, or, with fetters on thy hand, immured in a prison — 
if men have pushed thee aside so that thou canst not do, as 
thou wouldst wish, the will of God, by advancing His king- 
dom, see here a task which thou hast still power to execute 
for His sake : thou canst suffer His will, and suffer it patiently, 
so as to find in it a meat for thy inner man. The love-born 
zeal of thy God is the hidden manna of affliction • but neither 
dost Thou on Thy part, O my God and Father, afflict Thy 
human offspring willingly ; and it is because Thou wouldst 
rather bless than buffet them that Thou chastenest them in 
measure. 

Love, mercy, patience to display, 
And pardon sinners day by day ; 
To help the weak, the sick to tend, 
And great and small alike befriend, 
Is Thy delight. 

That is the reason why Thou correctest with measure and 
refrainest to smite, the moment Thy son Ephraim has come 
to a right mind and blushed and repented. " The Lord killeth 
and maketh alive ; He bringeth down to the grave and bring- 
eth up." x How well also does the history of Thy people 
teach this consolatory lesson : " I will allure her," Thou sayest, 
" and bring her into the wilderness, and speak comfortably 
unto her." 2 Here, then, we learn that it is not to destroy that 
Thou bringest us into the wilderness, but to speak comfortably 
to our hearts. In the day of our prosperity, when we are 
enjoying the pleasures of life, the tumult about us is so great 
that we cannot hear Thy voice ; whereas every affliction is a 
wilderness, in which solitude and silence reign, so that we can 
better understand what Thou sayest, according as it is written, 
" Affliction teacheth us to give heed to Thy word." 3 In every 
1 1 Sam. ii. 6. 2 Hos. ii. 14. 3 Isa. xxviii. 19 — Luther's vers. 



30. I earnestly remember my Son. 177 

case it is, as it were, a night to the soul. Noisy is the day, 
and we then hear only the voices of men ; but silence comes 
with darkness, and when the human voices cease, the voice of 
God begins to speak. 

Never, then, thou faithful God and Shepherd, never will I 
refuse, when Thou seest fit to lead me away from the green 
pastures into the lonesome wilderness, there to hold sacred 
converse with my soul. I know that I have still a place in 
Thy heart, according to Thine own word : " Though I spoke 
against my son Ephraim, I do earnestly remember him still" I 
know that Thy son Ephraim, even when Thou art obliged to 
send him captive to Babylon, still continues to be to Thee a dear 
son and a pleasant child ; and hence, though I may bemoan 
myself when thou chastenest me, I do not yield to despair. 
For me, too, the hour shall come when it shall be said, " Re- 
frain thy voice from weeping and thine eyes from tears, for thy 
work shall be rewarded." Thou art still the God of Thy people 
as Thou wert of old. The promise to turn again their cap- 
tivity, if they would but repent, which Thou madest to 
ancient Israel, Thy people after the flesh, Thou wilt not break 
to Thine Israel after the spirit. No ; all the revelations of Thy 
severity as of Thy loving-kindness, which Thou didst once 
vouchsafe in the congregation of Thine ancient people, will be 
made in still greater plenitude and glory in the midst of Thine 
elect of the New Testament. Behold, O Lord, my heart has 
been opened unto Thee, and in Thee my soul rejoices in the 
midst of its tribulation. 



With heart and tongue attuned, to Thee 
O Lord, a grateful song I'll raise, 

Because inviolate to me, 
Thou keep'st the covenant of Thy grace. 

And when from duty's path declined, 
And lost on sin's bleak waste I roam, 

Thou, the Good Shepherd, dost me find, 
And to the fold conduct me home. 

M 



178 3 1 - Before I was afflicted I went astray. 



Or if in shame and misery 

I reap of my self-will the fruit, 
Thou dost me pity, and stand by 

With look displeased, but still and mute : 

Until, with many a bitter tear, 

My folly I bewail, and then 
In my dark soul, its gloom to cheer, 

Thou shedd'st Thy heavenly light again. 



31. 

Before I foas afftfctetr 31 frrmt astray 

Full many a devil from the heart 

The rod of Christ must drive, 
Ere rooted, and in every fart 

Well pruned, the vine will thrive*. 

Yet doudtless upon none of all 

The brood that in me hide 
Its strokes so oft and heavy fall 

As on the Devil of Pride. 

Psalm cxix. 67. " Before I was afflicted I went astray; but 
now have I kept Thy word." 

Dan. iv. 37. "I praise and extol and honour the King of 
heaven, all whose works are truth, and His ways judg- 
ment : and those that walk in pride He is able to abase." 

NOTHING creeps so easily into the heart of a man after 
conversion as pride. No doubt a heart which Christ 
has once beautified with His graces, will never admit this 
devil if he continue as ill-mannered as before. In a house so 
tastefully decorated he must appear genteelly, and be upon his 
good behaviour. No longer must pride take up with such 
paltry things as money or lands. It was not by pride like that 
that Satan fell. For this reason, the devil of which we speak 
now clothes himself in white and affects spiritual things. The 



31. Before I was afflicted I went astray. 179 

man aspires to eminence in the kingdom of God, and claims 
consideration on account of his gifts and experiences : regard- 
ing himself as a light of no common brightness, he desiderates 
a lofty candlestick from which to emit his rays. It is as a 
queen that Pride stalks forth, and therefore she brings with her 
a suite of courtiers. If into the heart of which Christ dis- 
possessed her at conversion she be again allowed to enter, we 
may certainly expect His word to take effect, and that the 
unclean spirit which was cast out, on finding the house swept 
and garnished, will return and bring with him seven other 
spirits more wicked than himself, so that the last state of that 
man will be worse than the first. 1 Only make room for pride, 
and gradually will envy, selfishness, malice, and discontent steal 
in along with it; for, as Sirach says, " Pride is the beginning 
of sin, and he that hath it shall pour out abomination." 2 The 
cause of so miserable an infatuation is this, that when con- 
verted we really in some points are better than other men. 
For instance, we may perhaps have become more indifferent 
to the good things of the world ; but distance from the earth 
is not necessarily proximity to the sun. Besides, it is easy to 
delude one's self into the supposition that to be much occupied 
with spiritual things is to be spiritually minded, and that because 
our thoughts often soar on high, our conversation also is in 
heaven. The usual consequence is, that we indulge in pride 
towards the children of the world. Their good qualities are 
overlooked and the word of the Saviour is forgotten, " Is thine 
eye evil because I am good ? " 3 The eye which had far better 
be turned inwards is turned outwards, and more and more takes 
that direction. 

This kind of pride, when it regains the dominion of a 
Christian's heart, scarcely ever fails to enter into fellowship 
with antipathy to the Cross. But ill does it fare with the soul 
when it begins afresh to take offence at that which is the sacred 
symbol of the kingdom of God ; and in an evil case is the 
Christian who forgets the many fair and fragrant flowers which 
1 Matt. xii. 43. 2 Ecclus. x. 13. 3 Matt. xx. 15. 



i8o 31. Before I was afflicted I went astray. 

spring and blossom around the Cross, and nowhere else. He 
then takes umbrage, if he be made so much as to feel the rod 
of the heavenly Father, though St Peter exhorts, " Beloved, 
think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try 
you." 1 He will have miracles wrought rather than that he 
should receive one of those bloody marks which yet all the 
saints of God have borne. Poor man ! If the Saviour whom 
thou lovest, and who is the Son of God, wore a crown of 
thorns, what right hast thou to adorn thy head with a chaplet 
of roses ? 

Of all the suckers on His vine there are none which the 
heavenly Husbandman endeavours with so intent an aim to 
prune away as those of pride, for He knows that into them the 
whole strength of the stock is most apt to run, wasting the 
generous sap, and thereby marring the goodly fruit. And hence 
the more the wilful heart rebels under the first little cross, and 
attempts to shake it off, the sooner does the Lord impose a 
second and then a third, until the lesson of submission has been 
learned. Under this discipline we are at first very blind, and 
cannot conceive what it means ; nay, we may be so bold as, 
like Job, to expostulate with God and say, " Do not condemn 
me ; show me wherefore Thou contendest with me." 2 Think 
not, however, that the heavenly Husbandman will falter in His 
purpose. Oh no ! Well did He know by what means to con- 
strain a Job, who had been unreasonably zealous to confess, 
" I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes." 3 And no 
less to abase a Nebuchadnezzar who had insulted Him and 
said, " Is not this great Babylon that I have built for the house 
of the kingdom, and for the honour of my majesty?" — forcing 
him to bless the Most High, and to praise and honour Him 
that liveth for ever. But do not for that reason give way to 
apprehension, or think that He will now frown upon thee in 
His anger. No, dear reader — after having thoroughly buffeted 
a man, how gracious He becomes, and how liberally does He 
pour forth His gifts ! 

1 1 Peter, iv. 12. 2 Job, x. 2. 3 Job, xlii. 6. 



3 1 . Before I was afflicted I went astray. 1 8 1 

It is a beautiful rule which a pious servant of God has given 
us in the following words : — 

" If sickness, want, or dire mischance 
Are down upon thee poured, 
Fall on thy knees, and ask at once, 
What means Thy message, Lord 9 

And if, my child, thou humbly take 

His answer to thy heart, 
Be sure that He will quickly make 

Thy troubles all depart." 

If the soul in such a case inquires uprightly, it will not tarry- 
long for an answer. An answer is generally given, and comes 
in clear and intelligible terms. And what is its drift ? In nine 
cases out of ten it is at some devil of pride which has crept 
into the heart that the rod of God has been aimed. 

I can say with truth that many a sick-bed has been to me 
as a diet of worship, and many a sick-chamber as a holy 
temple. As I lay in silence and inquired of the Lord r What 
dost Thou say? I obtained an answer, and always such an 
one as showed that, however terrible His frowns, there was 
a loving heart concealed behind. Usually it was some vain 
imagination, some high thought, which the heavenly Husband- 
man had in His eye ; and so I was enabled to hold a sacred 
colloquy with Him, and my soul was at peace. In truth a sick- 
bed is generally the place where the blessing of the Christian 
faith becomes specially manifest. While in the heart of a child 
of the world sickness breeds obstinacy, pride, and discontent, 
and so eventually, when it has passed away, leaves no fruit, 
the contrary happens with the child of God. In his hours of 
languishing the mysteries of God's love and the unsearchable 
depths of His wisdom are properly disclosed. Such a silent 
sick-room sets a man once more loose from the world and its 
attachments, and from all courtship of human favour and 
human praise, and sends him back into life with a new and 
single eye. 

Alas ! I am conscious to myself how subtly and deceitfully 



1 82 32. Of His Ftdness have we all received. 

self-love can creep back into 'a heart which has been sanctified 
by faith ; therefore it is that I fervently pray, "Keep me in safety, 
O Lord, and let not my last state be worse than my first. Be- 
hold, I myself implore of Thee to humble me. That is for 
Thee an easy task. Let me become like Nebuchadnezzar, an 
object of scorn and insult to all mankind, rather than fall into 
pride, and thereby lose Thee, who art my dearest portion. For 
hast Thou not declared that Thou dwellest with those only 
who are of a humble and a contrite heart ? " 

How stealthily proud self contrives its light and gifts to vaunt ! 

The Lord we thank and praise so long as He does what we want. 

His ways, when they are straight and smooth, all just and right we call, 

And only murmur and complain when hardships on us fall. 

But, Lord, Thou canst abase the proud : Thou from his throne on high 

Didst thrust the King of Babel down among the brutes to lie. 

Then did he own Thee God alone, and, humbled in the dust, 

Confessed that all Thy works were truth, atid all Thy ways were just. 



32. 

©f $tis $u\nm Jjafo foe all rewifcefc. 

What means this throbbing at my heart, 

So blissful and so new f 
As if there were some open part, 

A nd heaven were breaking through. 
' Tis even so ; close not the door, 
And a whole ocean in will pour. 

John, i. 16. "And of His fulness have all we received, and 

grace for grace." 
Gal. ii. 20. "I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: 

and the life which I now live in the flesh, I live by the 

faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave Himself 

for me." 
Eph. ii. 8, 9. " By grace are ye saved through faith ; and 



32. Of His Fulness have we all received. 183 

that not of yourselves ; it is the gift of God : not of works, 
lest any man should boast." 

BEFORE I had learned the nature of grace, I paused at this 
saying of the apostle, " I live, yet not I, but Christ 
liveth in me ; " and I asked myself, What strange fancy of the 
Jewish Rabbi is this ? Does he really imagine that the Messias, 
who has been exalted to heaven, is now living in him ? Yet 
true it is, that He who ascended up on high, and sitteth on 
the right hand of the Father, did likewise continue to abide 
with His followers upon earth, and has become the life of their 
life. Nor is this merely, as when we say to a friend, I still 
have thee in my heart — meaning thereby, in my remembrance ; 
for if it were so, how could the Saviour have told His disciples, 
" I go away, and come again unto you " ? Or how could He 
have prayed " that they all may be one ; as Thou, Father, art 
in me, and I in Thee, that they also may be one in us ; that 
the world may believe that Thou hast sent me ; and the glory 
which Thou gavest me I have given them, that they may be one, 
even as we are one" ? 1 Could He have said, "Where two or 
three are met together in my name, there am I in the midst of 
them," if the phrase " in my name" signified nothing more 
than in remembrance of me ? No doubt, to remember the Lord 
is to stretch out a hand towards Him. But the Lord must fi 71 
it. And this is done when, along with the Father, He takes 
up His abode in His children ; when in His glorified humanity 
He draws near to the souls which seek Him; and, finally, 
when in the celebration of the holy sacrament He makes them 
partake of and feed upon Him. 

Moreover, neither does this oneness with the Lord consist 
in thinking in accordance, or, in other words, being of one mind, 
with Him. That was not the way in which He Himself was 
one with the Father ; and yet He said, " That they may be 
one, even as We are one." No ; the relation may rather be 
thus expressed : — 

1 John, xvii. 21, 22. 



184 3 2 - Of His Fulness have we all received. 

My Lord, He is the light, and I 

The ray which forth He sends ; 
How close the union, then, in which 

Each with the other blends ! 

This, no doubt, is a matter which ought not to be lightly 
uttered. We should speak of it with our face in the dust. It 
is the deepest mystery of condescension. The apostle ex- 
presses it in language which, had he not put it into our mouth, 
none of us but must have trembled to repeat. He says, " We 
are members of His body, of His flesh, and of His bones ; " 1 and 
these are words which penetrate to the very marrow. We feel 
that there is in them a mystery — a thing which, to the world, 
cannot but appear mere foolishness, just because it is so pro- 
found a wisdom in the sight of God. Oh, how high must have 
been the esteem of the Eternal for man, although so poor a 
creature, seeing that He did not disdain to unite him in mar- 
riage with His only-begotten Son ! His purpose to do this He 
announced so early as in the days of the prophets ; for hear His 
words by the mouth of Hosea : " I will betroth thee unto me 
for ever ; yea, I will betroth thee unto me in righteousness, and 
in judgment, and in loving-kindness, and in mercies." 2 If, 
however, the Lord merge Himself so thoroughly into those who 
are His, as that He becomes our flesh and blood, how can we 
possibly present Him with anything of our own ? All is, then, 
merely effused out of us, just as it had previously been infused 
from Him into us. According to the rhyme — 

The whole works of the Church by night and day, 
The action of her living Head display. 

He has exalted us to honour, and made us kings and priests 
unto God and His Father. 3 But as the Word declares, " The 
four-and-twenty elders 4 cast their crowns before the throne, and 
say, Lord, Thou art worthy to receive glory, honour, and 

1 Eph. v. 30. 2 Hosea, ii. 19. 3 Rev. i. 6. 

4 The Old Testament priests were divided into twenty-four classes, and the 
four-and-twenty elders here mentioned are their antitype, and represent the 
whole priestly generation of Christians. 



32. Of His Fulness have we all received. 185 

power." x Who can comprehend the full depth of this hom- 
age, that does not know the mystery of the Lord's marriage 
with the souls intrusted to His care ? Among all who have 
ever borne His name in genuine faith, there is not one who 
would not feel it to be blessedness to cast his crown in the same 
way before the throne ; and this he would do, not from a sense 
of duty, but prompted by the inward exigence of his soul. It 
would be his felicity ; and to those who are members of His 
flesh and of His bones it cannot possibly be otherwise. 

Hence, also, the clearer the Christian's recognition of his 
union with the Lord, the more freely can he speak of what the 
Lord has enabled him to accomplish, be the things ever so 
great. 

'Twas grace that did it all, he says, 
And claims not for himself the praise. 

He who still hesitates to speak of his own works, shows there- 
by that in what he does he thinks too much about himself; 
whereas the man who is firmly rooted in the article of grace, 
and who constantly bears about with him the consciousness of 
being one of the Lord's mei?ibers, relates only the doings of the 
Lord when he is relating his own. Would a child have any 
sense of self-conceit when telling with a light heart all the fine 
things which he had purchased with the money given him by 
his father? There is a passage in which the Apostle Paul 
avers, " I would not dare to speak of any of those things, if 
Christ had not wrought them by me, to make the Gentiles 
obedient by word and deed." 2 He did not hesitate, as many 
scrupulous people do, to say great things of himself, and 
bluntly avers, " L laboured more abundantly than they all." 3 
To this, however, he appends in plain terms, " Yet not L, but 

k the grace of God that was with me." And no doubt upon every 
occasion of his boasting the same idea was present to his mind. 
The rule, however, is, that the soul does not usually think 
much of its own work, unless it happen that some one calls it 



1 86 32. Of His Fulness have we all received. 

to account, or refuses to pay due honour to the work of God 
within us. 

The soul by grace renewed performs her work, 
And seldom wastes a thought on it when done ; 
Or if a spark in the vain bosom lurk 
Of self-approval for some conquest won, 
Anon comes holy shame, and points the eye 
, To faults so many, but unseen before, 
That to forget ourselves is all we try, 
And for a Saviour's pity God implore. 

It was in this way that the apostle acted. He would fain 
have forgotten what he himself had done ; but when others 
wished to forget what the Lord had done by him, he then stood 
on. his defence. In such a case he could even boast, as we 
read of his doing in the Second Epistle to the Corinthians, 
where, " seeing," he says, " that many glory after the flesh, I 
will glory also." 1 " I am become a fool in glorying ; ye have 
compelled me, for I ought to have been commended of you, for in 
nothing am I behind the very chief est apostles? though I be 
nothing." 3 How great a hero in humility must the apostle 
already have become ! for whereas to other children of Adam 
it is so sweet a gratification to have the opportunity of pouring 
out their own praise, this was done by him with pain and 
great reluctance, and only from compulsion. " Ye have com- 
pelled me," he says. Elsewhere, too, we find him averring, 
" That which I speak, I speak it not after the Lord, but as it 
were foolishly." And, " I say again, Let no man think me a 
fool." Here we see how it is possible to boast of one's self 
without in the least encroaching upon the rights of the Lord, 
to whom alone all glory pertains. Yet, notwithstanding, the 
humble-minded apostle makes no attempt to hide that he had 
been assailed by the old man with the temptation to self- 
praise, just as we all have been ; and he speaks to the Corin- 

1 2 Cor. xi. 18. 

2 Spoken in derision, as at chap. xi. 5, and not of his fellow-apostles, but of 
the self-enamoured persons who assumed the apostolical office. 

3 2 Cor. xii. 11. 



32. Of His Fulness have we all received. 187 

thians openly of the thorn in the flesh which was given to him, 
lest he should be exalted above measure through the abundance of 
the revelations" 1 That thorn effectually performed its ap- 
pointed work ; for what can match the affectionate humility 
with which in his Epistles the apostle subordinates himself to 
all men, and, as being the least among them, is ready to serve 
them all ? There is only one exception. It is that of any 
attempt, while contemning Paul, to contemn at the same time 
the Master by whom he had been made so high and distin- 
guished a member of His body. In that case, but in no 
other, does he stand up, and will suffer no despite to be done 
to that Paul in whom Christ the Lord had taken up His abode. 

How blessed a sight does the Christian present who stands 
in the garden of the Lord, like a tree bending under the 
weight of its fruit, and yet in childlike simplicity remaining 
wholly unconscious of the fact ! No : in place of taking credit 
for this to ourselves, our duty is to be continually praising 
Him, who of His good pleasure has made us vessels of His 
mercy. In every work of love which seems to prosper in my 
hands, I always appear to myself merely like the gardener who 
presents his master with a nosegay gathered from his own 
parterre. The master, if pleased to accept it, does so purely 
from grace; for he might just as well dismiss me with my gift, 
and even deprive me of the office in which I so greatly 
delight. 

The life of the collective body of the children of God 
through all centuries is, like my own, really nothing else but a 
perpetual implantation of the Divine Son into the human race, 
in order that all may " grow up into Him in all things, which 
is the Head, even Christ," and so " come unto a perfect man, 
unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ." 2 
That stature, however, even a Paul is conscious that he has 
not yet reached ; but as he says, " Not as though I had 
already attained, either were already perfect : but I follow after, 
if that I may apprehend that for which I also am apprehended 

1 2 Cor. xii. 7. 2 Eph. iv. 13. 



1 88 32. Of His Fulness have we all received. 

of Christ Jesus." 1 For this reason he likewise avers, " The 
life which I now live in the flesh, I live by the faith of the Son 
of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me :" and what 
he means is this : While I live in the flesh, Christ my Lord 
cannot attain to perfect life within me ; and therefore I mean- 
while comfort myself in Him, and in faith embrace Him, as 
the merciful High Priest who gave Himself for me. And for 
a weak beginner like me there is consolation in this text. I 
am labouring to prepare a dwelling-place for Christ the Lord 
in my heart, in order to entertain Him there as a beloved 
guest, ever longer and longer, and ever in a more perfect way. 
But well do I know that I only follow after Him, and for that 
reason I also will take as the source of my comfort, and the 
foundation of my trust, Christ for me, my Advocate with the 
Father, so long as Christ in me has not been yet brought fully 
to birth. 

O my soul, from His high and heavenly seat it is in thy 
power to bring Him down ! Only show Him that thy holiest 
desire is to see His face. Surrender wholly to Him thy 
thoughts and thy will, and be filled with His fulness. 

Listen, my soul, mark what I say, — 

Go, if the Lord command ; 
And when He draws thee, speed thy way ; 

And where He stops thee, stand. 

And still let Him before thee go, 

Behhid Him still go thou ; 
For safer rule this earth below 

In vain you'll search, I trow. 



Philip, iii. 12. 



33- Draw nigh to God. 189 

33. 

©rafrr mg|j to ©cto.- 

So precious in God's sight is thy free will, 
That not even thy soul 's yearning will He still, 

Save at thine own request. 
. Kings are not served by slaves — at His right hand 
None but the FREE are privileged to stand, 

And wait on His behest. 

Jer. xv. 19. "Thus saith the Lord, If thou return, then will 
I bring thee again, and thou shalt stand before me." 

Prov. viii. 17. "I love them that love me; and those that 
seek me early shall find me." 

Matt. vii. 7. " Seek, and ye shall find." 

James, iv. 8. " Draw nigh to God, and He will draw nigh 
to you." 

YES, O Heavenly Love, they who would find must seek 
Thee. In mercy Thou dost come to meet us, and 
unveilest Thy beauty, which excels all that is beautiful upon 
earth. Upon a thousand paths hast Thou gone forth after Thy 
children of the human race, in order to put it into their power 
to find Thee ; and yet Thou art a hidden God. Our passions 
have blinded our eyes, so that we pass Thee by a thousand 
times, and know not who Thou art. That is the reason why 
Thy creature needs to seek Thee. For myself, I sought Thee 
long before Thou wert known to me. I took something else 
for Thee, and stretched out my hand, alas ! after how many 
of the good things which perish ; and with hopes again and 
again disappointed, I was at last compelled to say, " This is 
not He whom my soul seeketh ; I charge you, O daughters of 
Jerusalem, if ye find my Beloved, that ye tell Him I am sick 
of love." In certain kinds of sickness, however, the patient 
is directed by an inward instinct to the medicine that can cure 



190 33- Draw nigh to God. 

him j and it is even so with the sickness of the soul. When 
all the medicine that perishable blessings can supply prove 
unavailing to heal its wounds, Thou dost then withdraw the 
veil which hides Thy face, and say, " I am the Lord, who 
healeth thee." 1 O what a proof of the nobility of man, that 
his soul can find no rest in the bosom of universal nature, and 
yearns for a good which far transcends it ! 

All, therefore, is grace, even although Thy creatures cannot 
find Thee otherwise than by their own seeking. Yes ; it is 
grace in Thee that Thou condescendest to be found, and that 
Thou then disclosest a loveliness so unspeakably attractive 
that the soul cannot help clinging to Thy knees, and exclaim- 
ing, "// is good to be here /" It is grace in Thee to have im- 
planted in our hearts so deep a longing, and given to men so 
lofty a soul, that the very fairest earthly objects cannot satisfy 
it without Thyself. But just because Thou hast endowed us 
with a spirit which is the likeness of Thine own, it is Thy 
pleasure that we should embrace Thee of our own free will, 
and be not merely vessels, but fountains of Thy grace. Thy 
desire was to be served by spirits, and therefore, that they 
should freely seek Thee, and voluntarily embrace the life which 
Thou dost offer. So greatly wert Thou set upon being loved 
without constraint, by rational beings made after Thine image, 
that Thou wert pleased to permit them to transgress, in order 
that, at least by stumbling, if not otherwise, they might learn 
to walk. Thou hast given to the bodily eye the power of 
shutting and of opening itself to the light of the material sun ; 
and Thou hast done the same to the eye of the spirit. For 
that reason it is that the work of our salvation can no longer 
be accomplished by Thee alone. In the exercise of pure 
grace, and possessing, as Thou dost, the power to do all things, 
Thou hast constituted us fellow-labourers with Thee " 2 in the 
task, so that now we say, — 

The work needs two ; God will not without me, 
Nor without God can I my soul from death set free. 

1 Exod. xv. 26. 2 1 Cor. iii. 9. 



33- Draw nigh to God. 191 

Or, as St Augustine affirms, " God chose to create me without 
my aid, but without my aid He does not choose to create me 
again." But Thy very nature is love ; and therefore, in lov- 
ing, Thou hast always been the first to begin, and still Thou 
doest it every day, for 

Hadst Thou not set on us Thy heart, 
We ne'er had sought Thee on our part. 

The initiative has always been on Thy side. It is involved 
in the decree, " Let us make man after our own image;" for 
by making men after Thine own image, Thou hast made them 
free spirits, as Thou Thyself art a Spirit, and hast implanted in 
their hearts an inextinguishable longing which impels them 
towards Thee. Yes; at our creation Thou didst so closely 
link and betroth Thyself to us, that a human soul separated 
from Thee must needs wander about upon the earth, like a 
bride bereft of her bridegroom, experiencing a disquiet and a 
longing which has its source in Thee, and leads back to Thee 
again. In fact, is not the human soul the bride of the Song 
of Solomon, who, having lost her Beloved, goeth about in the 
streets and the broad ways of the city until she has found 
Him ? 1 Yes, O Thou whose nature is love, it has still been 
Thine to begin. For when in their blindness the sons of men 
discerned Thee not beneath the veil of nature, Thou didst ap- 
pear among them in the person of Him who is Thine image, 
that thus they might be able to embrace Thee. Long before 
I was capable of thought Thou didst think of me ; and long 
before I knew what love was, I was the object of Thy love. 

Thou preservest Thy creatures by daily creating and giving 
them life and welfare afresh ; and Thou doest the same with 
Thy spiritual creation, the regenerate man. We have not yet 
become, but are only from day to day becoming, Christians. And 
so every day dost Thou commence Thy work within us by 
those gentle stirrings which come from the heavenly Father, 
and draw us to the Son, who then shows us by whom we were 
drawn. Thou stationest Thy preachers everywhere — in the 

1 Song of Sol. iii. 1-4; v. 6-8. 



192 33- Draw nigh to God. 

material creation, in the Holy Scriptures, in the Church of 
Christ — and provokest us to love Thee in ways without end. 
And hence, when Thy children seek Thee for the sake of Thy 
gifts, they but fulfil the saying of Scripture, that "Whosoever 
hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundantly." 
We must already possess some gift of Thine before we can 
receive Thy other gifts ; but who is there who has not already 
received some gift from Thee ? 

Thou encouragest us by Thy Word, saying, " Work out your 
own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who work- 
eth in you both to will and to do of His good pleasure." * 
How wonderfully in this text hast Thou interwoven Thy work 
with ours ! With so holy earnestness dost Thou enjoin us to 
work out our own salvation, that we expect nothing else than 
to be told that the power both to will and to do it is in our 
own hand. But no ; rather dost Thou incite us to work by 
the thought that both our willing and doing proceed from 
Thee. And in this, O Heavenly Wisdom, I understand Thy 
purpose. Thy desire is, to represent as gifts of Thine, and to 
give a sacred character to, the secret impulses and aspirations 
of our nature, which begin to stir within us simultaneously 
with the light that falls upon our bodily eye, in order that, 
looking upon them as the messengers of a great King who 
seeks an entrance into our hearts, we may never repel a single 
one of them, but, without excuse or evasion, may go where 
they urge, and stand where they stop us. Yes ; that is what 
Thou meanest to tell us by Thy apostle, and it is a sacred 
truth. O how much holier men would be if they would but 
receive with fear and trembling the yearnings and impulses in 
their bosoms, as if these were the heralds of a mighty monarch 
who brings a blessing with Him where He is welcomed, but 
where He is repulsed leaves behind Him a curse ! The long- 
ing of a human soul after Thee is Thy boon; and when a 
mortal spirit yearns for God, it is a proof that God has already 
yearned for it. Even an Eastern poet could say, 
1 Philip, ii. 12, 13. 



33- Draw nigh to God. 193 

. Each " Lord, appear" thy lips pronounce, contains My " Here am /" — 
A special messenger I send, veiled in thine every sigh ; 
Thy love is but a girdle of the love / bear to thee — 
And sleeping in thy " Come, O Lord" there lies "Here, son" from Me. 

Can arty one who has become aware of this do otherwise than 
yield with fear and trembling to every such incitement ? and 
yet, alas ! we may and do repel, and when they are announced, 
dismiss them with such paltry excuses. It is possible for Thee 
to apprehend a human being, and yet for him to make his es- 
cape from Thy grasp. If it were not so, why did the Saviour 
weep over Jerusalem? why did He say, " How often would I 
have gathered thy children together, and ye would not I" 1 

For myself, with holy fear and trembling, I will listen to 
every word which Thou addressest to my soul, and yield to 
every incitement by which Thou attractest me to Thyself. 
Thy apostle says, and I appropriate his words, " I follow after, 
if that / may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended 
of Christ Jesus." 2 I will seek Thee, like the bride, in all 
streets and broad ways, but chiefly in those places where 
Thou hast promised to be present — in the assembly of the 
saints, in the silent closet, in prayer, in the preaching of the 
Word, and in the Holy Sacrament. I will rise up early and 
dismiss slumber from mine eyes ; at night I will not lay me 
down upon my bed until I can exult in the assurance that 
Thou art wholly mine. 

And if, dear Master, I am at any time conscious that Thou 
art absent from me, I will not cast upon Thee the blame, but 
rather take it to myself. I will not ask of Thee, Why dost 
Thou deny me Thy presence ? but I will ask myself, Why did 
I not more earnestly sue for it ? Thou hast given us a promise 
in Thy Word, saying, " Draw nigh to God, and He will draw 
nigh to you." And therefore, when I do not taste the sweet- 
ness of Thy presence, ought I not to look upon it as a sure 
sign that I have not drawn nigh to Thee, or have not sought 
Thee where Thou art willing to let Thyself be found ? Thou 

1 Luke, xiii. 34; xix. 41. 2 Philip, iii. 12. 

N 



194 33- Draw nigh to God. 

hast plainly told us where Thou wilt give our souls an inter- 
view ; and if I do not attend at the appointed place, the fault 
is my own. If, however, I listen to Thy Word, and, drawn 
by the attractive power of Thy grace, wait upon Thee at the 
place assigned, and if Thou there meet and hold intercourse 
with me, so that I can affirm, " Now He is mine, and I am 
His/' ought I in such circumstances to say that this is my 
desert? O tell me, when the hungry man stretches out his 
hand and receives the bread offered by his benefactor, ought 
he to say that it is his desert that his hunger has been ap- 
peased? No. It would indeed be his folly. and his fault were 
he to reject the bread, and it is wisdom to accept it. But as 
for desert^ that is not the right word. In the spiritual case 
there is even a greater difference. For didst not Thou implant 
in my soul the very capacity of hungering after Thee ? Is it 
not to Thee that it owes the power of receiving the Holy 
Spirit, and holding fellowship with Him when He comes to 
enlighten and sanctify ? And if, moreover, in loving-kindness, 
patience, and long-suffering, Thou bringest to us upon all our 
ways this spiritual food, and, though often dismissed, still 
returnest with it again, how can I say that it is my desert if I 
be filled ? No ; there is in this ho?iour, dignity, and blessedness, 
but no desert of mine. 

Soul. 
Dear Lord, Thou art indeed a precious portion, and I re- 
joice that I possess Thee. But why dost Thou condescend to 
be found only by those who seek Thee ? 

God the Lord. 

When thou wert created, O man, to be 

Thy portion myself I designed ; 
So I took of my glory to give to thee, 

And my image I stamped on thy mind. 
Thou art my thought, like the creatures all, 

Which with my good gifts I endow ; 
But that was an honour for thee too small — 

The thought that re-thinks me art thou. 



34- Jesus withdrew Himself and prayed. 195 

The universe rose when the word I spoke, 

My infinite fulness to preach — 
Like crystal transparent and bright from the rock, 

But bereft was the crystal of speech. 

Thy mouth I have opened, O man, and thee 

Appointed to speak for the mutes ; 
And thy task is to praise and magnify 

My name and my attributes. 






34. 

%zm& Smtffarefrr i&tmself ant» pragefo, 

" / have no time,''' is what you say 
To God, who seeks by night and day 
To draw thee from the world away 
To silence and eternity. 

Matt. xiv. 23. " Jesus went up into a mountain apart to 
pray." 

Luke, v. 16. "And He withdrew Himself into the wilder- 
ness and prayed." 

Rev. iii. 20. "If any man hear my voice and open the 
door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and 
he with me." 

THERE are other passages in which, just as in these, it is 
recorded of the Saviour that He retired into solitude in 
order to be alone with God ; and if He who said, " No man 
hath ascended up to heaven, but He that came down from 
heaven, even the Son of Man which is in heaven" often yearned 
to leave behind Him all created things, and in thought to be 
wholly with the heavenly Father, how much more must this be 
salutary for me ! In these times of ours, life is becoming ever 
more and more noisy and distracting. And yet, notwithstand- 



196 34- Jesus withdrew Himself and prayed. 

ing, I find that men are ever less and less seeking that solitude 
which might protect them from the influence of this distraction. 
A sort of disquiet is creeping over all, even the disciples of 
Jesus, disqualifying them for imbibing in any rich measure the 
influences of the light from on high ; for it is only on the bright 
and smooth mirror of the water that the sun can reflect its 
face. Men now live in the fleeting present, and have no longer 
time to think either of the past or of the future. The conse- 
quence is, that even in the present they do not live as they 
ought. 

O God, how sacred to me were the hours which I spent in 
solitude with Thee ! My soul emerged from them as if from 
a bath. During its daily avocations, life with its multitudinous 
sounds rushes past like a roaring waterfall deafening our ears, 
so that we cannot understand ourselves, nor even God when 
He speaks to us. How differently do all things appear, how 
different we appear to ourselves, when, after the bustle of the 
day, sacred and silent night has crept on ! Then do voices 
within and around us, which before found no articulate words, 
begin to speak. Often, however, these voices are painful to 
the hearer, and therefore it is that he flies from hours of soli- 
tude. But shut not thine ears, dear reader : among them there 
is many a voice that calls thee home, and such a voice is always 
sad. But wilt thou, for no better reason than merely to spare 
thyself a touch of home-sickness, try to forget, in this far 
country, that thou hast a home elsewhere ? That is not wise, 
for so a time will come when even at home thou wilt appear 
a stranger. Seek to be alone with thyself. Every season of 
solitude is as a silent night, in which, when the din of this world 
dies away, boding voices from another begin to sound. 

Art thou then so much afraid to have no companion but 
thyself? Ah ! I know full well what thou fearest still more. 
It is lest another join the company whom thou art averse to 
see, and he is thy conscience. But remember that the com- 
panion whom thus thou shunnest is God; and can it be that thou 
art reconciled to Him if thou art afraid of His company ? As 



34- Jesus withdrew Himself and prayed. 197 

yet, when thou dost not see Him, thou only hearest His voice, 
and that affrights thee. What will happen when He shall be 
revealed to thy sight, and when His eye shall meet thine? 
What good would it do thee to be admitted with Him into 
heaven ? In the place where the blessed exult thou wouldst 
quake. 

In a house in which the mortar was dropping from the walls, 
and the rafters were beginning to break, there lived a man who 
was so deeply absorbed in his business, that to one of his 
friends who sought to speak with him alone in order to warn 
him of his danger, he answered, " I have no time." Thou 
laughest at his folly, but thou art thyself the fool. Believe me, 
dear reader, unconscious of it although thou art, thy business 
is more important to thee than thyself; for otherwise how 
couldst thou decline when the voice of thy heavenly Friend 
bids thee retire with Him, that He may inform thee about thy- 
self and thine earthly tabernacle ? Thou hast a certain feeling, 
though thou wilt not own it to thyself, that thou art not well, 
and yet thou shunnest so much as even an interview with thy 
Physician. Can that help thee? No; it helps thee nothing. 
Poor blinded man ! from the loud tumult of life thou wilt be 
hurried unexpectedly away, and then thou wilt be brought into 
a solitude where the voices from which thou didst here en- 
deavour to escape must of necessity be heard. Here they 
were the voices of a friend; there they will be the voice of 
thy fudge. 

To thy soul's inmost shrine repair, 
And there with God converse and dwell ; 

To Him that knows that palace fair 
The world will seem a prison cell. 

Consider, O my soul, how great an honour thou contemnest 
in order to pursue a paltry enjoyment. Thou hastenest in all 
directions to visit men ; and thy God is waiting for thee with- 
in, and thou permittest Him to wait. Thou wouldst shun this 
most honourable of interviews far less, hadst thou but experi- 
enced the kindness and condescension with which, on such 






198 34- Jesus withdrew Himself and prayed. 

occasions, He communes with the soul. No doubt He has 
many things with which to upbraid it, but He upbraids with 
such gentleness and patience that all one can do is silently to 
weep tears of shame. On the other hand, He has likewise so 
many blessed things to tell the soul about its native land and 
home, and the thoughts of peace which He cherishes on our 
behalf, and intends in the future to carry into effect, that it is 
good to be with Him. Thou imaginest that He comes only 
to judge and punish, and knowest not that He also comes to 
pardon and to save, and that at every such absolution a festi- 
val is celebrated in the inmost recess of the soul, on which 
even the angels of heaven look down with delight. 

A feast of joy that never ends 

Is theirs whom Jesus deigns to own, 
Gives them His peace, and calls His friends, 

And to them all His grace makes known. 

Then melts for Him the sinner's heart, 

And sweet and bitter tears are shed ; 
They think how well a Saviour's part 

He did, and for them wept and bled. 

In His dear presence there is bliss, 

The heart no keener joy can know ; 
And henceforth all its prayer is this, 

O Lord, let it be ever so ! 

It is this which He has promised when He says, " If any man 
hear my voice and open the door, I will come in to him, and 
will sup with him, and he with me." 

You who know it not from experience, cannot figure to 
yourselves the feelings of the man whose soul has thus enjoyed 
His presence, and who then goes forth again into the world. 
Like the brightness which lingered upon the face of Moses 
when he came from his interviews with Jehovah, he who has 
in solitude celebrated the supper with his Lord takes on a 
certain radiance from His countenance. Reconciled in heart on 
returning to the world, he surveys it in the light of reconcilia- 
tion. To every erring brother he stretches out his hand, and 



35- The Spirit maketh Intercession for tis. 199 

upon his enemy's head collects burning coals of love. All 
duties appear as if they were expressions of joy and affection, 
and from every stormy cloud of tribulation he sees the hand 
of a Father stretched out to save His child from falling. Then 
is God no longer the Being whose dwelling-place is far away 
above the moon and stars : He is the omnipresent One who 
covers the heaven and the earth with the shadow of His robe. 

E'er since I knew the Lord aright, 
I sup with Him from morn till night. 



35. 

Wyz Spirit mafeetjj faitzxtzman for us. 

My son, what marvel if there be 

Deep in thy breast so vast a sea, 
That day and night thy inward ear 

The rippling of the waves should hear f 

Ps. xxiii. 2. " He maketh me to lie down in green pastures, 
He leadeth me beside the still waters." 

Rev. viii. 3, 4. " Another angel came and stood at the altar, 
having a golden censer, and there was given unto him 
much incense, that he should offer it 1 with the prayers of 
all saints upon the golden altar, which was before the 
throne : and the smoke of the incense which came with 
the prayers of the saints ascended up before God out of 
the angel's hand." 

1 Thess. v. 17. " Pray without ceasing." 

Rom. viii. 26, 27. " Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our 

1 The prayers of the saints are of great worth in the sight of God, and there- 
fore He causes some grains of His heavenly incense to be dropped upon them, 
in order that they may ascend to Him with a sweet odour. 



200 35- The Spirit maketh Intercession for us. 

infirmities, for we know not what we should pray for as 
we ought ; but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us 
with groanings which cannot be uttered. And He that 
searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the 
Spirit, because He maketh intercession for the saints 
according to the will of God." 

HOW graciously, O God, hast Thou set open for me a door 
to all the joys of eternity, in giving me the liberty of 
prayer to Thee 1 Yes, doubtless, I too may say with Jacob, 
" This is the gate of heaven." A time will come when we 
shall be free from the cares of this life, and from all thought 
about perishing things : and so even now, while we pray, the 
earth, with its troubles, lies far beneath us. A time will come, 
when, in the mansions above, we shall see but one bright path, 
and that the path which led us to heaven ; and so even now, 
while we pray, all that we have left behind in life appears 
irradiated with the light of glory. How solemn the calm 
which reigns in the heart that prays ! It is the stillness of 
eternity, of which our God even here, in time, vouchsafes to 
us a foretaste. To the soul that prays, how clearly are all its 
own ways and devices, and God Himself, made manifest ! It 
is quite as if we had passed out of the shade into a bright 
light. Yes, of a truth, this is the gate of heaven, the antepast of 
eternity. 

Oh, were it possible always so to pray, then, doubtless, would 
men oftener have recourse to so precious a means of grace, 
and yearn after it from their inmost heart. Prayer, however, 
is twofold. Partly it is a birth of nature, and partly, too, a 
product of art. It is a birth of nature, for to what does nature 
prompt us more urgently than to pray ? Or is prayer really 
anything else than the breathing of the soul ? O Thou Foun- 
tain of my life, in my very infancy, and long before I knew 
either who Thou art or what is Thy name, my soul began to 
incline towards Thee, as the flower in a dark chamber tends 
towards the light of the sun ; and I felt that I could not choose 



35- The Spirit maketh Intercession for us. 201 

but commune with Thee. Prayer, however, is also an art ; 
and in the practice of it, as in the other branches of a Christian 
life, the word is fulfilled, " That whosoever hath, to him shall 
be given." Not to the souls of all do the gates of heaven fly 
open when they attempt to pray. There are many to whom 
it is allowed only to see through a little cleft ; and many more 
who but clamour at the door, but to whom it continues shut. 
Not so the man accustomed to commune with the Eternal. 
All he needs is to present himself before His face in solitude, 
and every bandage and veil instantly drops away. Whereas 
he to whom God is yet unknown, even though he wait upon 
Him at the appointed place of interview, will have much to do 
before his communing becomes hearty and familiar. 

O Thou sweet light of love, shine into my heart, so that 
even now in this poor life I may often celebrate with Thee a 
peaceful Sabbath, and enjoy Thy company in the fellowship of 
eternity. 

'Twas once my way to set apart 

Both place and time for secret prayer ; 
Now pray I always in my heart, 
And am alone though anywhere. 

This is what the apostle means when he admonishes us to 
pray without ceasing, and in such prayers all words and brisk 
emotions of the heart are for the time in suspense. Such 
prayers issue calmly forth, being in this respect like the solar 
light, whose approach we cannot hear, but which is yet accom- 
panied by a warmth that testifies its presence. Yes, there is a 
deep, hidden colloquy of holy souls with God, which never 
ceases any more than does the beating of the pulse in a living 
man. It consists in an inward tending and aspiring of the 
soul towards its Source, and, although calm and silent, it in- 
fluences and governs all the thoughts and volitions of him in 
whom it takes place. There are instances of the earth sending 
up from its lowest depths a tepid breath, scarcely perceptible 
to our senses, but which permeates the waters upon its surface, 
and impregnates them with medicinal virtues. And it is even 



202 35- The Spirit tnaketh Intercession for us. 

so with the prayer peculiar to the man of piety : it hinders him 
in none of his avocations ; rather, where it obtains, do these 
all thrive and prosper. 

And, dear reader, if thou wouldst acquire this peculiar kind 
of prayer which transcends both place and time, thou must 
begin with the humility of a child to pray at the particular 
place appointed by God for the purpose, which place is the 
sanctuary or the silent closet. Prayer, as I have said, is an 
art, and every art requires to be learned with pains. Do not 
therefore shrink from what may seem to thee the trouble of at- 
tending at the time and place which God has been pleased to 
assign. All art, however, by slow degrees, becomes at last a 
second nature ; and so likewise, as thou wilt find, does the art 
of prayer. And when thou shalt have attained to such prcn 
ficiency, thou wilt no more " either in this mountain or in 
Jerusalem worship the Father," 1 but wilt raise the memorial of 
His name at any spot on the face of the earth. 

There are a kind of prayers which man himself cannot make. 
They are freely given to him by Him whose property he has 
become in Christ. The Godward seeking and yearning of the 
soul is nothing but the breath of the uncreated Spirit within us 
aspiring towards its source. Sometimes it breaks forth in 
single sighs, and contains far more than it is possible to utter 
in human words. And inasmuch as it is the Spirit that puts 
such prayers into our heart, and as they flow forth undisturbed 
by human emotion and unaided by human art, so likewise do 
they take place according to the will of God : and with deep 
inward prostration before Him, the saints continually pray, 
and pray nothing else but "Come, Lord;" on which imme- 
diately follows the Lord's "Amen." Nor can it possibly be 
otherwise, because such prayers are really the first steps of 
His approach to the human heart, and are merely sent forth 
as heralds to proclaim that the great King is about to make 
His entrance into the soul in a still more glorious way. 

Lord, I keep silence before Thee, and suppress all feelings 

1 John, iv. 21. 



36. God is the chief Good. 203 

and desires of my own, in order that Thou Thyself mayest 
speak within me. Let the light of Thy countenance shine 
in upon my soul, that the prayers both of my lips and my 
heart may always be well pleasing to Thee. 

Soul, bid thy tossings cease ! 

Down in the deep profound, 

Sink to thy being's ground, 
And there find peace. 

Thy God is at thy side ! 

Offshoot of Him thou art, 

And so with thee His heart 
Must still abide. 

When the loud tempests blow, 

And on the angry main 

The waves roar back again, 
' Tis calm below. 

Happy such calm who knows ! 

For that which shows us best 

That on firm ground we rest, 
Is deep repose. 






36. 

©eft is tfje djizf #ooti. 

God is the great epitome of light ;* 

If thou wo'uldst nothing lack, possess Him quite. 

How the soul is taught by Heavenly Wisdom to pray. 

I. 

The Soul. 

OLORD, I long to pray to Thee aright. Wilt not Thou 
Thyself instruct me how to do it ? 

Heavenly Wisdom. 
Tell me, my child, why thou desirest to pray to me ? Is it 



204 3 6- God is the chief Good. 

for my sake or thine own ? — is it to laud and praise me, or to 
crave some boon for thyself? 

The Soul. 

Lord, Thy question perplexes and puts me to shame. But 
the purpose of it is to bring to light what is in man. Thou 
art my chief and eternal good, and well I know that I ought 
to pray, and give Thee thanks and praise, solely for Thy sake. 
And yet there is something for which I have a keen and per- 
petual desire, and which I passionately long to obtain from 
Thee by my prayers. 

Heavenly Wisdom. 

And what is it on which thou hast thus set thy heart above 
all measure ? 

The Soul. 

Lord, it is to know for certain that, after this life in time, I 
shall enjoy a blessed eternity in Thy presence. 

Heavenly Wisdom. 

And why, O soul, is thy desire for heavenly blessedness so 
keen? 

The Soul. 

Lord, it is, as Thou knowest, because this earth, with all its 
good things, cannot fully satisfy me. 

Heavenly Wisdom. 

Well, then, thou shalt obtain the boon on which thy heart 
is so fondly set. I shall command the chief of my heavenly 
ministers to apportion to thee the treasures of Paradise, and 
shall rejoice to hear that my heaven can give what my little 
earth was too poor to supply. 

The Soul. 
Hear this, dost Thou say ? Methought that it was in Thy 



36. God is the chief Good. 205 

presence ', O Love Eternal, that I was to enjoy the delights of 
heaven : but how can even heaven be heaven to me, if I do 
not find Thee there ? 

Heavenly Wisdom. 

What good, O soul, can it do thee to have my presence at 
thy enjoyments? Have I not promised thee my gifts, and was 
it not for these that thou didst desire to pray to me ? Surely 
thou art asking too much ? 

The Soul. 

O Lord, Thou knowest my inmost heart. It was before Thy 
face, and o?ily there, that I thought of enjoying Thy good 
things ; but if my joy be not also Thine, and Thy joy mine, 
even Thy Paradise cannot content me. 

Heavenly Wisdom. 

Well, then, if thou canst not be happy without me, art thou 
willing to have me, even though I bring thee no gifts at all ? 

The Soul. 

Lord, Thou leadest me into temptation ; but I reflect, and 
still I answer : " Whom have I in heaven but Thee ? and there is 
none upon earth that I desire beside Thee" r Yet if I have 
found favour in Thy sight, permit me still further to ask a 
question. 

Heavenly Wisdom. 

Say on, my son ; I wish to know all that is in thy heart. 

The Soul. 

Whilst Thou wert speaking, a blessed light arose within me, 
and now I know what Thou art. Art Thou not so transcen- 
dently great a good, that if I were only to possess Thee, I 
should possess all the other things which I wish to have — 
wisdom, and peace, and love, and beauty, and rest ? 
1 Psalm Ixxiii. 25. 



2o6 36. God is the chief Good. 

Heavenly Wisdom. 
Thou hast spoken well. I am indeed the shield of the 
righteous, and their exceeding great reward. 1 And now I 
understand what it is which thou didst wish to obtain by thy 
prayers. Tell me, then, if in asking me to teach thee how to 
pray, thy purpose was to thank and praise me, or rather, to 
obtain me as a boon to thyself. 

The Soul. 
Again Thou art pleased to lead me into temptation. Why 
dost Thou ask that question ? Is not my love all that Thou 
carest for ? What else but Thyself dost Thou give us in Thy 
gifts ? and how can a creature laud and praise Thee more than 
by making Thee the boon for which he craves ? 

Heavenly Wisdom. 
My son, thou sayest what is right, but mark the delusion in 
which thou wert entangled. When intending, in thy prayers) 
to laud and praise me as the chief good, it yet was not myself 
but my gifts that were the object of thy desire. 

II. 

The Soul. 
Lord, Thou art to me so high and precious a good, that 
henceforth I will no longer pray for any earthly good at all, 
but solely for Thyself. 

The Lord. 
'Tis well, my son. The portion thou needest of the good 
things of earth will be given to thee by Him into whose hand 
they are committed. 

The Soul. 
How shall I understand Thee, Lord ? Is there, then, any 

1 Gen. xv. 1. 



36. God is the chief Good. 207 

other hand but Thine own into which good things are com- 
mitted ? 

The Lord. 

No, my son, mine is the hand from which all the good 
things both of earth and heaven are received. Why, then, 
wilt thou not ask from me the earthly ones, nor thank me for 
them ? Methought I was so dear to thee that thou wouldst 
accept of no gift unless it came from a Father's hand. Me- 
thought that, on that account, all my gifts would seem to thee , 
to be fraught with blessing. When I presented thee with an 
earthly good, did I not mean by it, no less than by my spiritual 
gifts, to attest to thee the continuance of my love ? And dost 
thou value an attestation of my love at so low a rate ? 

The Soul. 

Lord, now that Thou showest it to me, I see how foolishly 
I spake. It was, however, only that my whole endeavour 
might be aimed with a more single eye at Thyself, that I 
wanted not to have my thoughts diverted by any perishable 
object, and therefore meant no longer to pray to Thee for 
earthly blessings. 

The Lord. 

Dear soul, thou sayest thou didst not wish to distract thy 
mind by looking at transitory things, but observe how thou 
didst divide thy heart ; for didst thou not intend to praise me 
for what my heaven bestows, but to be dumb for every boon 
that my earth confers ? 

The Soul. 

Lord, Thou puttest me to shame. In my desire to be 
simple-minded I have erred in my own wisdom, and become 
double-minded. As Thou art the Lord of heaven, and no less 
also the Lord of earth, I no doubt ought to ask, and likewise 
thank Thee, for earthly blessings. Forgive me for what I said 
in my folly ; but, inasmuch as I have taken upon me to speak 



208 36. God is the chief Good. 

unto Thee, and fear that my heart may cleave to created 
things, I now entreat that Thou wouldst Thyself teach me the 
right way to pray for earthly blessings. 

The Lord. 
My son, thou hast said that there is none in heaven or earth 
whom thou desirest more than me, and that I am thy chief 
and eternal good. If, then, that be true, I will show thee the 
way to pray for earthly blessings, and yet to have thy heart 
wholly detached from them. Thou didst strive with ardent 
desire to reach my heart ; strive therefore after every blessing I 
bestow, as if it were a path by which my heart may be reached. 

The Soul. 
Full well I know that the spiritual influences emanating so 
blissfully from Thee are nothing but beams of light, intended 
to guide us back to the Sun from whence they came. But 
with Thy permission I would ask if this be also the case with 
earthly blessings ? 

The Lord. 
Didst thou ever, at the rising of the sun, observe how its 
image is reflected, as if it were a miniature sun, in every drop 
of dew? Such is the relation between my divinity and all 
this earthly creation. In none of the creatures oughtest thou 
to enjoy anything save what is gentle, and sweet, and lovely ; 
and whatever is gentle, and sweet, and lovely in any created, 
thing, is my signature and mark. On the contrary, all that is 
harsh, and hateful, and bitter, belongs to the creature itself. 
And so, my child, you see how, from every created thing upon 
the earth, there is a way to the heart of my Godhead. 

The Soul. 

I do see it ; but be not angry with me if I once again open 

my mouth, for there is still something which is strange in my 

eyes. If every created thing be a way to Thy heart, how 

comes it that Thy manner has always been to impoverish the 



37. If we ask according to His Will, &c. 209 

most pious of Thy servants here below more than all others, 
although they are most accustomed to read Thy signature and 
mark; while, on the other hand, Thou lavishest the good 
things of earth on those who are far from Thee ? 

The Lord. 

For no other cause or reason, dear son, save that I am the 
Lord, and have ordered all things in weight, number, and 
measure. 1 As the signature and mark which I impress upon 
terrestrial blessings are written in large letters, legible even to 
the simple, it is to the simple that in my wisdom I have allot- 
ted terrestrial blessings. But as my wisdom has inscribed a 
better signature, although in fainter lines, upon poverty and 
privation, these are the boons I have reserved for them who 
are the " children of the secret." 

The Soul. 

"A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in dishes of 
silver." 2 Lord, this is a hard saying, but Thy Spirit will be to 
me a light within. 



37. 

It foe ask according to $ts TOill, i&e Jjearetjj us. 

You think our prayers He does not heed, 

Because He often answers "Nay;" 
And were that all He did, indeed 

I scarcely would your plea gainsay. 

But if beside the "Nay" there be 

Some better boon than what we sought, 
Methinks a senseless churl is he 

Who says his prayer no answer got. 

Matt, xviii. 19. "If two of you shall agree on earth as 

1 Ecclus. xi. 22. 2 Prov. xxv. n — Luther's vers. 

O 



210 ^j. If we ask according to His Will, 

touching anything that they shall ask, it shall be done for 

them of my Father which is in heaven." 
John, xv. 7. "If ye abide in me, and my words abide in 

you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto 

you." 
John, xvi. 23. " Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whatsoever 

ye shall ask the Father in my name, He shall give it 

you." 
1 John, v. 14. " This is the confidence that we have in 

Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He 

heareth us." 

THE blessed promises which, in these words, the Lord 
has given to His children, have in the lives of many 
Christians, as I know from experience, proved a stone of 
stumbling on which not a few have fallen, and some have been 
dashed to pieces. Here the Saviour positively engages that 
every single prayer which is made in faith shall be answered. 
Oh how I rejoiced when I first met with this promise in the 
Holy Scriptures ! And afterwards, when with the eye of faith 
I surveyed the long succession of His servants, from Gideon 
to Elijah, and from Elijah to Augustus Franke, to all of whom 
the Lord had redeemed His word, I felt that now my God 
was indeed a living God, and that as long as I lived He would 
never balk my trust. I saw the heavens open, and the 
ladder reaching from heaven to earth, and upon which the 
angels ascended and descended, that Jacob only dreamt of, 
was to me a reality. How, I exclaimed, can faith still be 
called an art, when He who made the heavens and the earth 
draws near so kindly to His children, and visibly stretches 
forth His hand from the clouds to take hold of theirs ? Here 
only the half is faith, the other half already vision. I know of 
many souls who, in the happy hour of their first love, exulted 
in the same way ; and then, oh how contrary did the event 
prove ! They prayed — they rent heaven with their prayers. 
But heaven closed its doors, and their prayers fell back un- 



He heareth us. 211 

answered on their hearts. It is dismal to hear it said ; and 
yet what better proof can there be of the astonishing power 
which Christian truth exerts upon men, than that there are 
thousands who have experienced what I here describe, and 
who nevertheless continue still to pray on and to believe ? It 
is, however, only by slow degrees that the child in Christ 
grows up to be a man ; and there are ailments to which the 
awakened are subject in their spiritual infancy, and one of 
these is the vehemence with which they pant for special 
answers to prayer. 

O Eternal Wisdom, how my heart bled when the convic- 
tion was forced upon me that I misunderstood Thy promises ! 
For this, however, I did not blame Thee, but ascribed it to my 
own blindness \ and Thou hast not withheld from me Thy 
light. Thou hast borne with my infirmity, and trained me in 
Thy school, until at last I have attained to manhood. No 
doubt the mouth of truth has uttered the words, " All things 
whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive." 
But we must not forget that from the same mouth arose to 
heaven the prayer, " Father, not my will but Thine be done." 
Can we evade the conviction that we never become children, 
in the full sense of the word, until in the sight of God we have 
wholly parted with our own will, and in sincerity of heart can say, 

Eternal Wisdom, all Thy will has seen 
Meet to allot me my own will has been ? 

All that a Christian soul has to supplicate from God is absorbed 
in the single petition of Thy kingdom come. And the question 
we ought to be asking ourselves every hour is, Whether, when 
we inquire and search to the bottom of our hearts, in order to 
discover what is the inmost and strongest of our desires, we 
find it to be, that God may reign within us, and every thought 
we think, and every throb of our pulse, be subject to Him ? 
Oh how transporting would be the consciousness that God 
was indeed reigning within me / For now, alas ! is not the 
human heart, with all its conflicting thoughts and wishes and 
emotions, like a realm in which the subjects have revolted 



212 ^j. If we ask according to His Will, 

from their king ? But a time is coming when He shall reign, 
and when all within me shall serve Him in holiness and love. 
And can fallen man utter a prayer with a nobler burden than this? 
If, then, this petition be the sole scope of a godly heart, 
what can other petitions, which we offer for this' or that par- 
ticular boon, really import, save that we regard the things we 
ask as the best means for securing to the King Eternal His 
rightful dominion over us? Inasmuch, too, as the Divine 
Being, in His wisdom, alone knows what the best means for 
attaining the best ends really are, when He denies us the boon 
for which we pray, the denial of it must be a blessing no less 
than the bestowal. That which is the object of the heart's 
inmost yearning, He can bring about quite as well when He 
refuses to save our dying friend, or to remove the thorn from 
our flesh, or to cause the sun to shine and the rain to fall on 
our fields, as when He consents to do these things. A beautiful 
instance of this in the life of the great Church father, St 
Augustine, has often given me both consolation and light. He 
wished to leave Carthage, where he had become deeply en- 
tangled in the snares of sin, and to visit Rome, then the 
metropolis of the world ; but his pious mother restrained him 
with her tears, and would not let him go, being afraid that he 
would encounter still more dangerous snares in the great city 
than where he was. He had promised to her to remain, but, 
forgetful of his duty, embarked in a vessel under the cloud of 
night, and in the very place to which her affection was afraid 
to let him go he found salvation, and was converted. Ponder- 
ing in his mind how the Love Eternal had conducted him to 
where he himself had only, in the frowardness of his heart, 
thought of going, in the retrospect of his life which he takes 
in his ' Confessions,' he says, " But Thou, my God, listening 
in Thy high and heavenly counsels to what was the scope of 
my mother's wishes, refused her what she prayed for at that 
time, that Thou mightst grant her what was at all times the 
subject of her prayers." 1 

1 St Augustine's Confessions, B. v. chap. viii. 



He heareth us. 213 

Eternal Wisdom, ever since Thou didst thus illumine the 
darkness of my infant faith, how clear has it become to me 
that that stormy flame which once burned in my heart was all 
too impure ! I required that the heavens above my head 
should be rent, merely because I had not sufficient faith and 
patience to recognise the traces of Thy government in the 
ordinary course of earthly events. I failed to see that the faith 
which discerns Thy hand behind the natural order of things, 
and with persevering patience waits for the appointed hour 
when Thou wilt give to Thy children what is for their good, is 
a faith harder to exercise than that which refuses to trust Thee, 
unless Thy hand be every moment visibly stretched forth from 
heaven. 

What a noble pattern might not St Paul have been to me ! 
At the time when Thou wert laying the foundation-stone of 
Thy Church, He had beheld thine arm visibly stretched forth 
from heaven. He had had actual experience that at Thy nod 
the earth quaked and the fetters that bound Thy servants 
broke asunder. 1 Although, however, he had in many ways 
actually seen the working of Thy miraculous hand, yet never 
once did he crave from Thee its help. For two long years he 
wore his chains in the prison of Caesarea, and in that of Rome 
for even a still longer period, and yet we do not read of his 
ever having either asked or expected of Thee to work a miracle 
for his release. In complete resignation, he left it for the 
Lord to determine whether he was to depart this life or to 
abide in the flesh, 2 and whether he was to visit the brethren 
in the imperial city, or to have that desire of his heart un- 
fulfilled. 3 

And by the light which Thou givest me, O my Lord, I also 
can now interpret the promises of Thy word in but one sense, 
which is this, that the great object for which Thy true disciples 
will ever pray is that Thy kingdom may come; and therefore 
that they will set their heart upon nothing, except in so far as 
they consider it the means by which that object may be pro- 
1 Acts, xvi. 26. 2 Philip, i. 23, 24. 3 Rom. i. 13. 



214 17* If we as k according to His Will, &c. 

moted. That Thou to whom alone the right belongs mayest 
wield the sceptre, is what they long for in their inmost souls. 
This is the prayer which knows no pause in their hearts, and 
which, O gracious Lord, on every occasion Thou dost fulfil, 
whether it seem good to Thy wisdom to grant or to refuse their 
special petitions. All Thy children are bound for home, and 
this one perhaps asks Thee for wings, but in Thy wisdom Thou 
givest to him only a chariot. Another prays to Thee for a 
chariot, and Thou givest to him a staff. But what does it 
matter, provided they all arrive in safety ? 

No doubt, when souls are specially dear to Thee, Thou 
mayest sometimes suggest to the heart and put into the lips 
the special petitions which Thou hast beforehand resolved to 
grant, and these constitute the singular cases of prayer miracu- 
lously answered. Ought I, however, to insist upon Thy doing 
this for me? Secrets are for kings, and hidden things for men 
of high degree, but in the kingdom of God I am no king ; I 
am only a child of humble folk. On the great highway to 
Zion there are reserved footpaths, and this is one of them. For 
me, however, it has been appointed to travel with the crowd. 
Full well I see that my shoulders are too weak to bear the 
honours which Thou canst allot with safety to the dignitaries 
of Thy kingdom. When I reflect how great would be the temp- 
tation, if such as I possessed, like Peter, the power of saying 
to the lame, " Rise up and walk," or like Paul to the evil 
spirits, " I command thee to come out of her," I am afraid. 
And yet to pray with success, in a special case of need, is like- 
wise a miracle. I am still, O Lord, in the lowest class of Thy 
school, and for one who has never yet learned rightly to believe 
in many of the manifest miracles of Thy grace, the power to 
work miracles would be an unsuitable gift. If perchance it 
shall ever happen that I am deemed worthy of so great a dis- 
tinction, it will only be when I shall have learned to pray 
wholly in Thy name. And this I shall never learn, until I 
have fully sacrificed to Thee all will of my own. For the 
present, dear Master, my prayer shall be — 



38. The Lord's Prayer. 215 

Grant me the wonders of Thy grace 

In every day's events to see ; 
Thou meetest me in all my ways — 

O that I sought to meet with Thee ! 

Better to trust Thy hand of might, 

Even when by sable clouds concealed, 
Than own it when, to sense and sight, 

Stretched forth from heaven, it stands revealed. 

O help me then by faith to live, 

The faith that to the unseen cleaves, 
Sure that eternity will give 

Vision to him who here believes. 



38. 

S3je Horn's $rager. 



Here Chrisfs own words express my wants, and now 

With perfect confide?ice to God I pray ; 
For to the prayer the Son hath taught us how 

Can God the Father ever answer " Nay " f 

Matt. vi. 9, 13. " Our Father which art in heaven, hallowed 
be Thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done 
in earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily 
bread. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our 
debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us 
from evil : for Thine is the kingdom, and the power, and 
the glory, for ever. Amen." 

FROM my inmost heart I thank God for having mercifully 
given to us a prayer in the very words dictated by our 
Lord. Oh, with what confidence we pray it, knowing as we do 
that for every one of its petitions we have the sanction of the 
Son of God ; and knowing that, we likewise know that our 
prayers shall be heard, and feel as if the Lord Jesus were stand- 



2i6 38. The Lord \r Prayer. 

ing at our side, and acting as our advocate and voucher for 
everything we ask. 

It may be long before a Christian advances so far as to 
become aware how great a treasure he possesses in the prayer 
of our Lord. At first we are apt to think that its petitions are 
by no means of so lofty an import as they might be, and that 
they do not afford an adequate medium for expressing the in- 
most yearnings of the soul. And yet, at last, we come to see 
that if we pray at all, this prayer must be our rule of direction. 
Luther says with truth, that no martyr in the world ever suffered 
such ill-usage as that which this prayer has had to endure. 
" When ye pray," says the Saviour, " use not vain repetitions, 
as the heathen do, but after this manner pray ye, Our Father 
which art in heaven," and so on. It seems, therefore, that 
His intention was to show to Christian people how many and 
how great things it is possible to pray for in very few words \ 
and yet men who bear His name have been taught to mumble 
it over dozens of times, exactly as the heathen pray. Oh, when 
the salt has lost its savour, wherewith shall it be salted ? 

Never shall we learn to use the Lord's Prayer aright until 
we have really become His children. It is designed for men 
of simple minds, and it also serves to make us more simple- 
minded, simpler too in our desires, so that our wishes and aims 
are ever more and more contracted into a longing for what are 
the true and main blessings of life ; all other things being left 
to the disposal of the grace and providence of God. The 
more the mind of the Christian is undistracted, the simpler 
become his desires, and the simpler also his petitions. And 
to this noble simplicity in praying, the prayer of our Lord fur- 
nishes us with a guide and directory. 

" When I am about to pray the Lord's Prayer," says one 
who was much upon his knees, " I first of all think of my de- 
parted father, and of how kind he was, and of the pleasure he 
took in giving to me. Next I figure to myself the whole world 
as my father's house, and then all the inhabitants of Europe 
and Asia, Africa and America, become in thought my brothers 



38. The Lord's Prayer. 21 J 

and sisters. And God sits in heaven upon a golden throne, 
and stretches His right hand across the sea to the end of the 
earth, and has His left filled with salvation and all good things, 
while the tops of the mountains smoke around ; and then I 
begin, ' Our Father which art in heaven.' " Yes, all the good- 
ness, faithfulness, and love which we find and enjoy in earthly 
fathers, must be taken into view when we lift our eyes to that 
great Father of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is 
named. 1 In this way the heart becomes as confident as if we 
heard His voice responding aloud to every petition, and say- 
ing, "Amen, my son." In order, however, that when we thus 
call upon Him we may leave behind us all the folly and frailty 
which here on earth cleave to human fathers, He bids us sub- 
join " which art in heaven" — as if He meant to say. He is our 
true Father, for He is not merely willing, but has likewise the 
requisite knowledge and power to bestow good things. How 
beautifully, too, does He remind us by the word " our," which 
is prefixed to " Father," that when we come into His presence 
we ought always to bring with us a heart alive to the necessi- 
ties of our brethren, as much as to our own ! 

" Hallowed be Thy name." Mark how at first He leaves out 
of view all that the suppliant might wish to ask for himself. 
It is Thy name, Thy kingdom, Thy will ; and this is the direc- 
tion in which the heart of the Christian always tends. Yes \ 
so transcendently great and glorious is He, the fountain of all 
good gifts, that when we pray for the glorification of His name, 
His kingdom, and His will, we virtually pray for blessedness 
to ourselves. O that men understood how good He is ! O 
that they only knew His name ! It is indeed like ointment 
poured forth, and filling the whole house and heart with frag- 
rance. 2 After learning it, all names and titles of earthly great- 
ness vanish ; and though to many of these we may previously 
have paid homage, the glory is now given to it alone, and it 
alone is hallowed. I perceive so clearly that there is no name 
but His that is worthy of being hallowed ; and yet wherever I 
1 Eph. iii. 15. 2 Song of Solomon, i. 3. 



2i8 38. The Lord's Prayer. 

look I observe the profanation to which, in innumerable ways, 
it is subjected. Men cleave to the gifts of God instead of to 
Himself, and bear His name upon their lips in place of in their 
hearts. Nay, when I question myself whether I hallow that 
name and reverence it in my inmost soul as I continually 
ought,. I feel ashamed, and with deep emotion exclaim, " Oh, 
ever more and more let Thy name be hallowed in me and 
every human being ! " 

" Thy kingdom come" Surely where so good a monarch 
reigns there must be peace and prosperity without measure ; 
and did I but hallow His name, how could He fail to reign 
within me ? Yes, if all that I know of Him — of His noble 
kingly heart, of his great and merciful designs, of His wise and 
holy laws — were sacred in my eyes, the inevitable consequence 
would be, that He would reign in my heart : my heart would 
be His throne, and all the members of my body and all the 
faculties of my soul His ministering angels. This, in fact, is 
the great effect that He is ever more and more working out in 
all who belong to Him ; and I would be unfaithful to truth 
were I not to acknowledge, to His praise, that I myself by slow 
degrees have learned to serve Him, and yield to Him my 
members as instruments of righteousness more willingly than I 
once could do ; and still better, to learn this lesson is what my 
whole soul desires each time I pray, " Thy kingdom come." 
Yes : in uttering this petition I strive in my inmost heart to re- 
solve more'sincerely than ever to surrender myself and all that 
I possess unreservedly to His service, that He may do with me as 
He will; and while I utter it, my whole being thrills with joy 
in the anticipation that the feud within me shall cease at last, 
and not in me only, but in all to whom He has given power 
to become His children. Not for ever shall His subjects be 
disloyal ; not for ever will He need to upbraid us in anger, 
and say, " If I be a Father, where is my honour? And if I 
be a Master, where is my fear?" 1 No: a time is coming 
when, here on earth, " they shall not hurt or destroy in all 
1 Mai. i. 6. 



38. The Lord's Prayer. 219 

God's holy mountain," and when " the earth shall be full of 
the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea." 1 

" Thy will be done in earth as it is in heaven." Oh how good 
and blessed a thing it is to know that the feud and rebellion 
which prevail here on earth do not at least reach to the bright 
regions above ! How painful would be the thought that they 
did ! When, therefore, I utter this petition, I figure to myself 
how it will be when, over the whole world, on the mountains 
and in the valleys, all altars shall smoke to Him, and all men 
present to Him the oblation of a perfect and childlike obedi- 
ence, like that which the holy angels are now presenting in 
heaven. No other will but His is good; and the longer we 
live, the more do we become convinced of this, and the more 
earnestly do we desire that no other may prevail. No doubt, 
when we behold the disobedience which is shown to His holy 
commandments over all the earth, we almost lack courage to 
utter so bold a prayer. But the Son of God has put it into 
my lips, and therefore I can hope with strong assurance that 
He still thinks thoughts of peace towards the inhabitants of 
earth, and I can look forward to- the time of which it is writ- 
ten that " God shall be all in all." 2 In this manner these 
beautiful petitions enable us to rejoice in the hope of that 
which is to come, even when our cheeks are wet with tears at 
the spectacle which is before our eyes. 

" Give us this day our daily bread." I ask not for wealth 
and a full barn. If the eye required to rest on things like 
these before the heart could feel tranquil and safe, what room 
would there be for the faith which cleaves to the unseen as if it 
were patent to the sight ? What I ask is, that the Lord would 
be pleased to bless the labour of my hands, and by His bless- 
ing give me a token that the labour of my hands, performed 
in obedience to His will, is acceptable to Him. Certain it is 
that He rejoices when His children are unwilling to take even 
their daily bread from any hand but His own. In a family the 
children know full well that the father will spread for them the 

1 Isa. xi. 9. 2 1 Cor. xv. 28. 



220 3 8- The Lord's Prayer. 

table ; and full well, likewise, does the father know that the 
children's eyes look unto his hands to give to them their food. 
But, nevertheless, it does the heart of a father good when the 
children do not keep silence, but take courage to crave from 
him this temporal gift, and thank him for it when obtained. 
Every day to the throne of the heavenly Father flock the 
beasts of the field and the birds of the air and the fish of the 
sea, to receive from His hands their daily bread. It is, how- 
ever, the prerogative of man that he alone is able to pray to and 
thank Him for it in intelligible speech. Oh how rich must 
that storehouse be from which the great Lord of the world has 
for so many thousand years been feeding and nourishing the 
many millions of His creatures, and has never forgotten one 
of them ! How easily might we give way to mistrust, and to 
the apprehension of being one day reduced to want ! That, 
however, is impossible, for " He who is Lord over all is rich 
unto all who call upon Him." 1 

When men pray from the prompting of their own hearts, 
they insist longest upon that which is needful for the outward 
man; but into the prayer which He has taught to us who are 
His children, the Lord has admitted only this one petition, 
and thereby has given us to understand that far greater is the 
destitution of our souls. 

" And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors" Here 
He allows us to pray for the forgiveness of our debts, but He 
does not say how often a sinful man may use the prayer. What 
He does is to assign us, as it were, a place before the im- 
measurable storehouse of the divine mercy, and permit us 
every day and every hour to return to it and receive a fresh 
supply. Would it be wonderful if men were indiscreet enough 
to abuse the privilege ? To guard against this, He has an- 
nexed a clause to the petition which may well deter the rash ; 
for it is " as we forgive our debtors." I am certain that wholly, 
and from the inmost heart, to forgive one who has done us an 
injury, is an act of which he only is capable who has himself 

1 Rom. x. 12. 



38. The Lord's Prayer. 221 

received unmerited mercy in Christ Jesus ; and for that reason 
I also believe that it will not be so easy to abuse this petition. 
For myself, when I utter it, I set before my mind's eye my 
bitterest enemies — those who have done me the most crying 
injustice — and I ask myself if I am wholly pure and free from 
hatred and resentment, and kindly-arlectioned towards them. 
And if I be conscious that this is the case, I then say, " O 
Love Eternal, like other men I have by nature a heart to which 
rancour and revenge are sweet. Now, however, I find that Thy 
Spirit has given me a placable heart, and that there is really 
no one on earth against whom I bear a grudge, or on whom I 
long to be revenged ; and therefore with full confidence I lift 
my eyes to Thee, and implore Thee to forgive me my debts. 

" And lead us not into temptation." Observe in how brotherly 
a way the Saviour has here again condescended to our frailty. 
Already has He provided us with weapons sufficient for our 
defence against temptation, and our deliverance from the fear 
of being injured by it ; so that His apostle writes, " Count it all 
joy when ye fall into divers temptations." 1 Nevertheless, so 
wholly does He here enter into the infirmity of our flesh, that 
He permits us to pray, "Lead us not into temptation." When, 
therefore, I take this petition into my lips, I figure to myself 
the thousand snares of ambition, avarice, luxury, anger, and 
malice which beset the path I daily tread ; I reflect how many 
and how diverse are the sharp rods and fiery furnaces which 
the heavenly Father has at His disposal, such as tedious sick- 
ness, disgrace, contempt in the eyes of men, misunderstand- 
ings with those whom we best love; and I thus learn how 
averse my heart is to the cross, and how timidly I shrink from 
it in every shape. I reflect also on the many wiles of Satan, 
and the gross errors by which even the strong-minded may be 
induced to forsake Christ ; and then I cannot help thanking 
God from the very bottom of my soul, that by His dear Son 
He has permitted us to come before Him with the prayer, 
"Lead us not into temptation." It is a prayer so suitable to 

1 James, i. 2. 



222 39* I OLm withyou alway. 

our condition, continually reminding us that here, in this world 
of time, we walk as upon glass, while at the same time it in- 
spires us with confidence that we shall not be subjected to too 
severe a trial. " He tempers the wind to the shorn lamb." 
And as He permits us to pray, " Lead us not into temptation," 
certainly, if He do suffer us to be tempted, He will also make 
for us a way of escape, that we may be able to bear it. 1 

"But deliver us from evil" "I still," says the man of prayer 
already mentioned, " have temptation on my mind, and think 
how easily man may be seduced and turned aside from the 
straight way. At the same time I also think of all the miseries of 
life — of consumption, old age, madness, and the thousand woes 
and heartaches which infest the world and torture and plague 
the poor and helpless children of men ; and if my tears have 
not already flowed, they now come for certain, and with all my 
heart I could wish to be away, and feel sad and downcast as if 
there were no deliverance. But then we must take courage 
afresh, lay our hand upon our lips, and, as if in triumph, pro- 
ceed to say, ' For Thine is the kingdom, and the power, and 
the glory, for ever. Amen.' " 



39. 

E am fcritfj sou alfoag. 

You say that one no longer knows if now 

The Chtirch on earth exists; 
And yet the offspring of her womb art thou, 

And suckling of her breasts. 
How can the child, who life from her receives, 
Doubt for a moment that the mother lives ? 

Psalm xii. i. " Help, Lord, for the godly man ceaseth." 

1 i Cor. x. 13. 



39* I am with you alway. 223 

Matt. xvi. 18. "Thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will 
build my Church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail 
against it." 

Matt, xxviii. 20. " Lo, I am with you alway, even unto the 
end of the world." 

I AM a member of that society of the saints of God which 
descended from pious Abel to Moses, and from Moses to 
the little flock selected by the Lord out of the chosen people 
— Israel according to the flesh — that He might lay them for 
the foundation of a holy fabric, which reaches unto eternity. 
I am inserted, and feel so grateful and blessed in the consci- 
ousness of the fact, as a stone in the temple, of which the 
corner-stone, elect and precious, is Jesus, the Son of the living 
God. I am a shoot imbibing its sap from a vine-stock, on 
which beside me, as fruitful branches, grow a Luther, a Calvin, 
a Tauler, an A Kempis, an Augustine, a Chrysostom, a Paul, 
and a John. And even if around me here, in the present, 
"the godly men had ceased" far more than is the case, oh 
how innumerable are the hosts of those who have gone before 
me, and with whom I hold fellowship in faith and love and 
hope ! Yes, even although I could do nothing but sit by the 
rivers of Babylon, and mourn and weep that the walls of Zion 
have been broken down, oh let me have but faith — the faith 
which sees that which is invisible — and then at once I become 
aware that I am one with the hundreds of thousands who 
before me have sowed in tears, but who are now before the 
throne of the Lamb, and are bringing in their sheaves with 
joy. " The dead live unto God;" so then, O Luther, you and 
Tauler, and Chrysostom, and John, and Paul, are not dead. You 
are still alive in the world unseen, and my soul, soaring aloft 
on the wings of faith, can hold converse with you. Yes, and 
your word still abides with us ; and upon it, as a living bridge 
stretching across all the barriers of time and space, your spirits 
can find their way to ours, and ours to yours. When I read 
thy Epistles, O holy Paul, and thy books on the Imitation of 



224 39- I am with you alway. 

Jesus Christ, O beloved A Kempis, I need but to figure to 
myself that you still sojourn here on earth, and that they were 
all written as epistles to me. 

It would, however, be a very narrow view, and the mere 
effect of melancholy, were a Christian, especially in these days 
of ours, to cast his eyes to some remote boundary of time and 
space, in order to realise his fellowship with a great Church. 
So narrow a view would be circumscribed within his own im- 
mediate sphere, and probably would not penetrate very deeply 
even there. Verily the Church of Christ does exist here on 
earth. It is in the midst of us, and we are in it. Did not the 
Church give me birth ? Is she not the mother of my faith ? 
Was it not in her bosom that I found the Holy Scriptures ? 
Have I not received the words of life from the lips of her 
living members ? So long as the Church of Christ on earth 
continues to be the ark of the covenant in which the testi- 
mony of the divine word is preserved, so long as she has 
strength enough to bring forth children from her womb, and to 
suckle them at her breasts, how is it possible that they who 
are her offspring and sucklings can ever despair of her life? 
To the Twelve when here below, weak in faith, destitute of 
strength, and with a traitor in the midst of them, the Word of 
Life proclaimed that the gates of hell should never prevail 
against His Church ; and now, after the Church has subdued 
continents, and from century to century has demolished the 
temples of idolatry, has preached the Gospel to the poor of 
every tongue and kindred, and made a prey of the strong, 
ought we now to despair of her existence ? No doubt the poet 
sings,— 

" With love to us o'erflowing, 
The bitter cross He bore ; 
And now His name' 's forgotten, 
Men think of Him no more." 

But let a man attempt to figure to himself, if he can, the pos- 
sibility of that name which is above every name — the name of 
Jesus — dying out and being forgotten upon the earth ! From 



39- I am with you alway. 225 

the total impossibility of even fancying such a thing, we learn 
that faith in the immortality of a Christ dwells indestructibly 
in the heart of him to whose inward eye His image has once 
been revealed. 

The congregation of the Lord, it is true, has at many a time 
walked the earth in very unsightly raiment ; but did not her 
royal Head, while sojourning here below, likewise wear the 
beggar's garb? and did not then His regal look, without the 
help of diadem or sceptre, evince Him to be a King? And, 
in truth, in spite of her mean attire, never has the congrega- 
tion of His people wholly lacked the same regal look; for 
with what other weapon could she have overthrown her foes ? 
What, indeed, is the Church in her living members if not the 
Lord Christ come back to His disciples, according to the pro- 
mise, not to " leave them comfortless " ? She is His body, and 
through it we can visibly recognise Himself, as we do the soul 
out of expressive eyes. The Church is now sojourning here 
below, as once did her Lord, in a state of humiliation. As it 
stands before us, it is but an intermediate fabric between 
heaven and earth, without which we would lose the sight of 
heaven, and earth would cease to be of any significance. The 
sun stands behind the clouds, and its light reaches us only in 
broken rays ; but a day is coming in which the clouds shall be 
dispersed, and then shall the King himself appear in glory, 
and His kingdom likewise be glorified along with Him. 

It is with the Church collectively as with her individual 
members. Her way lies through the night of error and sin ; 
the gold is mingled with dross, and the conflicts and tribula- 
tions of time are the crucibles prepared to purge the dross 
away. Even in mines the metal is seldom found pure and 
unalloyed ; generally it is dispersed in veins through the mass 
that contains it. The same is the case with the individual 
Christian, and the same also with the Christian body as a 
whole. Moreover, it often happens that the fairest and holiest 
products of the Church are those which withdraw from the 
public view. In this respect they are like the good works of 

P 



226 39* I am with you alway. 

the private Christian, in which the left hand knoweth not 
what the right hand doeth, and which are observed by no 
other eye but that which seeth in secret. As nature is noisy 
only when it rends, but silent when it brings forth; so in 
ecclesiastical history we hear far more of destructive commo- 
tions than of those quiet fruits of peace which faith brings 
forth in the interior of the soul, in the privacy of the family 
circle, and among persons of low degree, of whom history 
makes no mention. But he who would distinctly conceive 
how fertilising must be the spiritual rain with which the 
Church has watered the fields of the world needs only to ask 
himself, What would I have been if all the blossoms and fruits 
which the breath of my Master's Spirit has evoked were to be 
subtracted from my life? Can I for a moment doubt that 
what His Spirit has been and done to me individually, it has 
no less been and done to the Church as a whole ? 

For the rest, if at any time I find myself brooding in 
ignorant despondency over the fact that the godly man 
ceaseth and that the kingdom of God does not come with 
power, I try to imbibe strength from the thought that it is 
quite the same whether the Spirit descends upon many in 
drops and rivulets or upon few in great streams. And how if 
it be that the few who in particular localities lament the ruin 
of Zion are endeavouring to be all the more amply replenished 
with the might and gifts of the Spirit, being stimulated thereto 
by the distress which they feel? Their distress thus becomes 
the means by which the kingdom of God may be brought to 
such places in all the plenitude of its riches and power. Ah 
me ! would that our lamentation over the ruin of God's king- 
dom were always to turn into activity in building it up ! 

Lord, hitherto Thou hast been with us, and wilt continue to 
abide with us until the end of the world. Oh give us eyes of 
faith to look steadily at the sun, even though its light shine 
through the clouds only in broken beams ! Never, Almighty 
God, wilt Thou lack stones for the temple which it is Thy 
will to build up out of sinful humanity ! Help me, that to the 



40. They continued steadfastly in Fellowship. 227 

praise of Thy glorious grace I too may be a living stone in the 
part of it where Thou hast been pleased to assign to me a 
place ! Help me to understand what gifts I have received. 
Doubtless many more have been conferred upon me than I 
either know of or employ. Forbid that I should neglect or 
dream any of them away. Forbid that, in thinking of others, 
I should forget myself, or forget what Thou hast already done 
for me. How shouldst not Thou be able to lift up Thy 
Church from the depths, and set it on high, seeing Thou hast 
rescued myself from so deep a pit ? 

Through this dark world of sin and woe, 
A helpless little flock we go, 

And seem of low degree ; 
But let the royal Bridegroom come 
To wed the bride and take her home, 

And who so blest as she ? 

Here stood the Sun of Life concealed, 
And through the mists its face that veiled 

JFaint fell on earth the rays. 
There full disclosed it stands, and bright ; 
No lowering clouds obstruct its light, 

And bliss is in its blaze. 






40. 

STjjeg CGtttfmtetf gteatrfagtlg in jFellofogtfjtp* 

Gather the coals together well, 

And each will help the blaze to swell. 

Acts, ii. 42. " They continued steadfastly in the apostles' 
doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in 
prayers." 

Matt, xviii. 20. "Where two or three are gathered together 
in my name, there am I in the midst of them." 



228 4°- They continued steadfastly in Fellowship. 

Heb. x. 25. "Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves 
together, as the manner of some is." 

OH how blessed an assemblage it must have been, when, 
in the early days after Pentecost, the apostles and the 
three thousand met together with one accord ! 1 " One Lord, 
one faith, one baptism," was no doubt the word which echoed 
perpetually through all their hearts. They were brothers, 
which is more than good friends. It means blood-relations ; 
and such they were, for the Lord had sprinkled them with 
His blood, and put one and the same Spirit into their hearts, 
just as it is one blood that flows in the veins of those who are 
kinsmen. " Every one that loveth Him that begat, loveth 
him also that is begotten of Him," says St John. 2 He who 
begat me to a new life is the Lord Jesus Christ : and being, 
as I am, His child, I have also in me some portion of His 
Spirit. How then should I not love those who have also been 
begotten of Him, and who partake of the same Spirit as my- 
self? These early Christians loved each other, and their fel- 
lowship in the Spirit drew them together, as the members of 
one body cannot brook to be separated. They continued, it 
is said, in the apostles' doctrine, and doubtless must have con- 
versed at large about all which the apostles told them respect- 
ing the Lord; and in fellowship, which certainly means com- 
munity of goods, as it is afterwards called ; 3 and in breaking 
of bread, or in other words partaking of the Holy Supper, in 
which their absent Master became once more present, and 
gave Himself to them ; and in prayers, in which they gave 
vent to the sentiments inspired by their common fellowship in 
the Lord. As they had all their earthly possessions and goods 
in common, they, no doubt, likewise shared with each other 
their spiritual joys and sorrows ; and this brother would say to 
that, " Such was the way in which the Lord dealt with me/' or 
" It was thus that I found grace ; " so that doubtless what the 
poet says was true of them — 

1 Acts, ii. 46. 2 1 John, v. 1. 3 Acts, ii. 45. 



40. They continued steadfastly in Fellowship. 229 

' ' The wondrous story, ever new, 
Scarce finished is again begun, 
How Jesus was so kind and true, 
And for us all redemption won. 

How first He woke our hearts, when dead, 

With messages of weal or woe ; 
And ever since has safely led, 

And showed us the good way to go. 

His gracious presence then is felt, 

The Spirit breathes, our bosoms burn ; 
Our hearts with sacred ardour melt, 

Our prayers to grateful anthems turn." 



That was indeed a blessed fellowship; and for fellowship 
of the same open and brotherly kind who among us does not 
long ? How many there are who at the social board have sung 
of men's common brotherhood, and caught enthusiasm from 
the strain ! But it is a strain which they sing by lamp-light 
and over their wine. The sentiment which is expressed attains 
to perfect truth only in Christ. Mutually related as we are, 
even as descendants of Adam, we cannot live wholly apart from 
each other. Nothing but sin has separated us, and none but 
He who bruises the head of the old serpent can unite us again 
in genuine brotherhood. Can there be any one who has never 
felt how the sympathy of others multiplies joy and mitigates 
sorrow? and in the domain of religion this is doubly and trebly 
true. Prayer and meditation upon God come so reluctantly 
from my heart when I pray and meditate alone, but seem as if 
they were winged when hundreds begin to pray and sing along 
with me, and seal the same confession with one general Amen. 
I often think of the negro woman who was once asked by the 
governor of Surinam why she and her fellows always prayed 
together. Could they not do it each one for himself? He 
happened to be standing at the time before a coal-fire, and the 
woman answered : " Dear sir, separate these coals from each 
other, and the fire will go out ; but see how brisk the flame 
when they burn together." From the mere circumstance that 



230 4°- They continued steadfastly in Fellowship. 

when in fellowship with others our hearts grow warm, we can 
easily understand what the Saviour means when He says, 
" Where two or three are gathered together in my name, there 
am I in the midst of them." And again, " If two of you shall 
agree on earth as touching anything that they shall ask, it shall 
be done for them of my Father which is in heaven." 1 This, 
says a devout man, is as when the whole children of a family 
take heart, and with one accord beseech the father for a boon. 
It is then far harder for him to refuse. 

Awakened souls largely enjoy the privilege of fellowship, and 
there are not many who decline intercourse with those to whom 
they are spiritually related. Any who do it have either already 
fallen or are about to fall into a morbid state of mind ; for 
as man naturally depends upon his fellow-men, so does the 
Christian upon his fellow-Christians. Does not each member 
of the body stand in need of the rest ? How much of what 
is good we learn — how much of what is not good we get rubbed 
away, by communing with other minds ! The Lord has vouch- 
safed His Spirit, not to this or that member, but to the body of 
His Church, in order that each in particular may share with 
the rest what has been given to the whole. They who isolate 
themselves usually do it from a secret pride ; their obstinacy 
and caprice will not submit to receive instruction from others. 
If, however, even in worldly business, it be true that 

He who pretends himself to school, 
Has for his scholar got a. fool, 

the truth of the proverb is shown by still more serious conse- 
quences in spiritual affairs. No doubt the Holy Spirit, as im- 
parted to individual believers, teaches them many a lesson • 
but that the Spirit of the Church is of still higher authority, 
may be learned from the saying of the Lord, 2 that if a sinner 
shall neglect to hear his brother, the brother is to take one or 
two more ; and if he neglect to hear them, the matter is to be 
reported to the Church; but if he neglect to hear the Church, 

1 Matt, xviii. 19. 2 Matt, xviii. 17. 






40. They continued steadfastly in Fellowship. 231 

he is to be looked upon as a heathen man and a publican. 
Hence, if we anywhere find true Christians in a state of 
estrangement from each other, we have to admonish them in 
the words — 

Children of God, if gentle charity, 

Parent of concord, in your bosoms dwell, 
Why let the separate flames grow faint and die, 

And not unite one common blaze to swell ? 
Knit to one head, and members of each other, 
Let brother give a friendly hand to brother. 

And no doubt those whose souls are awake, are glad to im- 
prove the blessing which drops from heaven when brethren dwell 
together in unity 1 and edify one another. On that account, how- 
ever, they are all the more prone to forego another blessing — 
the blessing that flows from fellowship with the Church univer- 
sal, which is Christ's body, and from the Church's public wor- 
ship. Are there not at present many who cry aloud that there 
are few true Christians, not merely among those who hear, but 
even among those who preach ? Now, it may not be right to 
spread a white salve over all the afflictions of Joseph ; such 
concealment was of old practised by the false prophets, and the 
Lord censures them for it. 2 But neither, on the other hand, 
is it right to judge so harshly, as many are wont to do, of a 
Christian assembly who meet for divine worship. For one 
thing, it may fairly be asked, What brought these worshippers 
to church ? Certainly it was not flesh and blood, but must 
have been the Holy Spirit more than anything else. This 
surely we may affirm', and especially in the present day, when 
the number who frequent the church is so much smaller than 
used in former times to be the case. And even though we 
may have to admit that, among them, this individual or that 
exhibits no other mark of the Lord Jesus, still if he does go to 
kneel along with thee and thy brethren in the faith, wilt thou 
attempt to hinder him ? Is not the weak believer still a be- 
liever, as much as the weak member is still a member of the 

1 Psalm cxxxiii. i. 2 Jer. viii. n ; vi. 14. 



232 4°- They continued steadfastly in Fellowship. 

body? May he not apply to himself what Luther says of the 
whole Church? "The true Church is that which prays, and 
prays with earnestness and faith, ' Fo?'give us our debts as we 
forgive our debtors. 1 The true Church is that which, even in 
the present life, receives, not indeed the tithes, and far less the 
full harvest, but at least the first-fruits of the Spirit." May not, 
then, the weak believer call upon you to give him credit for as 
much as this saying affirms, seeing that, while in the holy place, 
and at such a time, his heart is with God and the Saviour ? 
In this way it is that, even in our day, a stream of spiritual in- 
fluence still flows through each of our worshipping assemblies, 
although it may here and there light upon many a shallow 
spot. 

You complain that the preachers are dumb dogs, and that 
you cannot derive from their discourses any sense of your fel- 
lowship with the body of Christ. And much is it to be 
deplored when the preacher forgets the admonition of the 
Lord, " The prophet which hath a dream, let him tell a dream ; 
and he that hath my word, let him speak my word faithfully." 1 
Nor can any doubt that a Christian sermon is a precious thing. 
But when the Psalmist exclaimed, " / had gone with the multi- 
tude ; I went with them to the house of God, with the voice of joy 
and praise, with a multitude that kept holyday" 2 it was at the 
beauty of the worship of God's house 3 that he rejoiced ; and 
yet that, at the time, included no sermon. Neither do we read 
that any sermon was preached when the apostles met together 
with one accord at Jerusalem. The things mentioned are just 
what we may equally enjoy in every good evangelical church. 
They were the "apostles' doctrine" — which we have, as often 
as a passage from the Word of God or the Confession of 
Faith in the Liturgy is read to the congregation. There was 
the " breaking of bread ; " and this also is ours, with the seal 
of the divine promise, which no minister, however unworthy, 
can undo ; and there were "prayers" which we also can offer 
everywhere, in the name of Jesus Christ. Even, therefore, 
1 Jer. xxiii. 28. 2 Psalm xlii. 4. 3 Psalm xxvii. 4. 



40. They continued steadfastly in Fellowship. 233 

although a minister may forget his divine vocation, and mingle 
hay and straw and wood with the pure gold of the Gospel, still, 
so long as a congregation has the Word of God, and a Chris- 
tian Liturgy, and a Christian Hymn and Prayer Book, it ceases 
not to be a branch of the one Holy Church of Christ, for that, 
as the Augsburg Confession of Faith declares, is, The assem- 
blage of all faithful me?!, a?nong whom the Gospel is preached i?i 
purity ■, and the holy sacraments are administered according to the 
scriptural rule. 

If there be in these days of ours many Christians who derive 
little benefit from the public worship of God, the sole reason 
is that they do not take with them to church the eyes of faith. 
If they did, it could not be that so much of the Word of God 
as is still to be heard in the worship of at least the most of our 
congregations would remain without a blessing. They also err 
in fixing their attention exclusively upon this or that one of 
their fellow-worshippers, or upon themselves \ whereas, when 
worshipping in the house of God, our spiritual eye ought not 
to rest upon the neighbour on our right hand or him on our 
left, or even to be confined to the one little flock around us. 
Rather ought it to take in the great body of which that flock 
is but a member. Oh what a marvellous and delightful 
power would be shed upon many feeble Christians in these 
days, could they but thoroughly learn, when in the presence 
of God, to offer and to do all that they offer and do not merely 
as isolated individuals, nor with an eye to other individuals 
isolated like themselves, but under the conviction that their 
praises and their prayers, their struggles and conflicts, take 
place at all times in fellowship with all the other members of 
the vast body ! This fellowship is beautifully described by 
Luther in the following words : " So, then, every Christian 
has the comfort of knowing that when the devil assaults him, 
he assaults not merely a finger, but the whole body of the 
Church — that is to say, all the Christians in the world, yea, 
God and Christ besides ; for it belongs to their oneness, that 
there is no part or member that lives and feels for itself alone, 



234 4 1 - How long halt ye between two Opinions ? 

and does not share the life and feeling of all the rest — that is 
to say, of the whole body. Wherever, then, the humblest 
member in Christendom suffers, the whole body feels and 
bestirs itself. All run at once, and complain and cry, and 
then Christ our Lord hears and feels it ; and though He may 
refrain for a little, yet, when He begins to look angry and 
scornful, it will be no jest ; for thus He speaks by the mouth 
of the prophet Zechariah, ' He that toucheth you, toucheth the 
apple of mine eye. 1 " x 

grant me, Lord, that in my fight 
With foes unseen by day and night, 
Whether I watch, or praise, or pray, 
Victor or vanquished, still I may 
Know myself one of an unnumbered host, 
Nor feel, like severed branch, my labour lost. 

When singly I the foe provoke, 

1 fall beneath some sudden stroke 
Aimed at my solitary head ; 

But if in compact rank arrayed, 

I fight with millions at my side, no foe, 

Whoe'er he be, has power to lay me low. 



41. 

$toftr long Jalt ge fotfoem tfon ©pmtotts? 

Alas ! why does my heart so often stray 

Far from its rightful Lord ? I hear thee say. 

But tell me, e'er to Him thy vows were spoken, 

Hadst thou with all thy former masters broken ? 

For Christ allegiance will accept front none 

Who do not first all other lords disown. 

i Kings, xviii. 21. " Elijah came unto all the people, and 
said, How long halt ye between two opinions? If the 

1 Zech. ii. 8. 






41. How long hall ye between two Opinions ? 235 

. Lord be God, follow Him : but if Baal, then follow 
him." 
Matt. vi. 24. " No man can serve two masters : for either 
he will hate the one, and love the other ; or else he will 
hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve 
God and mammon." 

I MUST come to a clear decision of the question, Who is 
to have the government of my life ? Alas ! I have 
hitherto had too many masters, and not one supreme ; for how 
can I affirm that any one is my master whose commandments 
are not the rule by which I walk ? Every morning we ought 
afresh calmly and clearly to determine who our rightful master 
is, and then turn our back to the world, and our face to Christ. 
Unless we have firmly and unalterably resolved on this, it will 
from time to time happen, that when the world issues its 
commands on the right hand, and Christ His on the left, we 
will sometimes hold to the one master and despise the 
other, and sometimes love the one and hate the other. In 
nothing have I experienced the truth of this so much as in 
the matter of me7i-p leasing. It is amazing how much our 
thoughts and purposes and whole position depend upon our 
fellow-men. Even the influence that the place and time at 
which we happen to live exert upon our opinions and acts, is 
ultimately determined by some particular person. When, for 
example, I figure myself residing in another neighbourhood, 
and among other influential people, I have the conviction that 
then many things would appear to me in a very different light 
from that in which I see them now. Does not much of the 
disquietude of the soul originate in the circumstance, that 
instead of seeking to please one, we seek to please many ? In 
this way we become too external, and the quiet and sacred 
fire, which ought ever to burn for God upon the altar of the 
heart, is extinguished. 

Whoever tries all men to please, 
Exhausts his strength, is ill at ease, 
And God displeases still. 



236 4 1 - How long halt ye between two Opinions? 

Try, then, in whatsoe'er you do, 
To keep all right 'twixt God and you, 
Let men say what they will. 

Oh that we could but remember the woe uttered by the 
Saviour when He said, " Woe unto you when all me7i shall speak 
well of you ! for so did their fathers to the false prophets P 1 
Even the common experience of the world shows us that it is 
far from easy to please all men, and that the very attempt has 
quite the opposite effect of not pleasing any. According to 
the old proverb — 

Attempt to please all men, and all 
With one accord thee fool will call. 

Why, then, should we surrender ourselves to a bondage so 
disgraceful as that of subserviency to men who are our equals ? 
The only true freedom is in serving God, and Him alone. And 
if subserviency to men be disgraceful, how much greater a dis- 
grace it must be to be the slaves of sensual gratification, or of 
gold, or worldly goods ! When the kingly spirit of man, who 
was made in his Maker's likeness, is brought into bondage by 
the enticement of a glass of wine or a bit of metal, O image of 
God ! how vilely art thou then trodden in the dust ! 

But much also depends upon knowing the will of God. It 
is a very painful state when the will is sincerely set upon serv- 
ing Him, and when at the same time we do not know how to 
serve Him aright — when we ponder on this side and that — 
when our thoughts, as if at war, accuse, or else excuse, one 
another — and yet, after the whole torment of choice has been 
gone through, we find ourselves at last standing in the middle 
between right and left quite as helpless as we were at the 
beginning. Surely we may say with truth, that this torment of 
choice was never felt in Paradise. 

For certain our Lord Jesus Christ never needed to choose ; 

and when St John writes, " Ye have an unction from the Holy 

One, and ye know all things," 2 was he not addressing persons 

who were in most matters also exempt from the same irksome 

1 Luke, vi. 26. 2 1 John, ii. 20. 






41. How long halt ye between two Opinions ? 237 

necessity ? For myself, it often happens that I stumble from 
no other cause than uncertainty about the way. Perhaps I 
cultivate a false friendship with the world, solely in consequence 
of unseasonable reflection upon the divine command to 
" Follow peace with all men ; " or I run in the same course as 
the world, because the apostle's precept, " To the weak became 
I as weak, that I might gain the weak," has occurred to my 
mind inopportunely. If, however, the only cause of my heart be- 
ing divided between God and the world were the insufficiency 
of my knowledge of the divine will, I should not need to be so 
much afraid. But in the minds of many who are certainly far 
more faithful than I, there is a hesitation and inward disquiet 
which originate in no other cause save that they often lose sight 
of the way; and this is a case in which it is far from easy 
to advise. 

No doubt the old divines have laid down the wholesome 
rule, that what gives the flesh most pain, brings to the soul 
most gain. And when one considers the cunning devices of 
the flesh, the strange kind of logic, to use the words of Luther, 
which it invents, and the manifold excuses which it is always 
ready to offer, it may well appear to be good advice that 

The way that to the flesh gives pain, 
Is that whereby we heaven shall gain — 

at the same time that is not so absolutely true. It cannot be 
affirmed that in every case of a choice of many paths, that is the 
best which is most painful to the outer man. For does not 
St Paul enjoin us "to make provision for the flesh, but not to 
the fulfilling of its lusts " ? 1 Neither can it be said that in 
every case the best way is that which is most offensive to the 
world ; for the same apostle exhorts us, " If it be possible, as 
much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men." 2 In such 
a doubtful case some will tell you to go to the Bible for advice, 
others will recommend prayer ; and these are things which are 
very easily said. But the Bible does not always speak dis- 
tinctly upon particular cases ; and if, when we begin to pray, our 
1 Rom. xiii. 14 — Luther's vers. 2 Rom. xiii. 18. 



238 4 1 - How long halt ye between two Opinions? 

heart already inclines to one side, it is certain that to the same 
side will our prayers also bend. As the shortest way to avoid 
being biassed by their own hearts, pious souls have sometimes 
had recourse to the lot. For this they can plead the example 
of the apostles and the saying of Solomon, that " the lot 
causeth contentions to cease, and parteth between the 
mighty." 1 And if with that wise monarch we must affirm 
that "the lot is cast into the lap, but the whole disposing 
thereof is of the Lord," 2 we can also as little deny that, in as 
far as the matter is the Lord's, He is able to speak by means of 
a slip of paper quite as well as He once did by the mouth of 
an ass. But then the question is, whether or not we have been 
enjoined to learn what He says from the mouth of an ass, and 
whether or not by such an attempt we do not cast away a far 
nobler gift with which He has been pleased to distinguish us. 
What if it was His will to make us priests ? What if He meant 
to put into our hearts the Urim and the Thummim — the Light 
and Law — which of old Aaron bore upon his breast when he 
went in before the Lord, and by which the Lord answered his 
questions ? 3 As we are priests of the New Testament, my 
confident belief is, that that is what the Lord will do to us all. 
The promise which He made of old to the prophets, saying, 
" Thou shalt call, and the Lord will answer ; thou shalt cry, 
and He shall say, Here I am," 4 He will still more certainly 
fulfil in us. The apostle Paul writes to the Philippians : 5 " Let 
us therefore, as many as be perfect, be thus minded ; and if in 
anything ye be otherwise minded, God shall reveal even this 
unto you." " If any of you lack wisdom," says St James, 6 " let 
him ask of God, who giveth to all men liberally, and upbraid- 
eth not, and it shall be given him ; " and St John 7 affirms, 
" Ye have an unction from the Holy One, and ye know all 
things." It is the Holy Spirit which gives a man this priestly 
unction, and puts into his heart the Light and Law, and with 

1 Prov. xviii. 18. 2 Prov. xvi. 33. 3 Exod. xxviii. 30. 

4 Isa. lviii. 9. 5 Phil. iii. 15. 6 James, i. 5. 

7 1 John, ii. 20. 



41. How long halt ye between two Opinions? 239 

it insight as to what he ought to do or leave undone. There 
can be no doubt that after the apostles received the Spirit they 
no longer had recourse to the lot ; and although the lot may 
be good enough for souls in their childhood, it is good only 
before Pentecost. If the Holy Spirit be come, it then behoves 
us to comply with the apostle's requirement, and to " prove 
what is the good and acceptable and perfect will of God." 1 
In doing this, it is true, we may often go wrong, still the doing 
of it is always practice ; and as it is by practice that in other 
matters we obtain proficiency, so here also is it by " use" that 
advanced believers "have their senses exercised to discern 
both good and evil." 2 No doubt the Lord does not stand on 
this familiar footing with mere strangers ; He does it only with 
members of His household — those who live in daily fellowship 
with Him, and who in all matters seek His advice with the 
docility of children. For so He tells us when He says, " Hence- 
forth I call you not servants ; for the servant knoweth not what 
his lord doeth : but I have called you friends ; for all things 
that I have heard of my Father I have made known unto 
you." 3 

Accordingly, in my opinion, there are two things which ought 
to be taken to heart by those who desire to know the will of 
God aright, in order in all things to serve Him alone. In the 
first place, it seems to me important that when we are in doubt 
and enter our closets to inquire of Him, we should go with an 
utidistr acted heart, and be silent before Him. Come and bow 
down, must thou say to thyself, and bring before the face of 
the Omnipresent thy heart in a calm and gentle frame, with 
no bias either to the right hand or the left. 

Enter thy closet, man, for there the Sun of Grace shines bright, 
And there God opens wide His heart, to give life, joy, and light. 
You only intercept the rays by word or act of thine, 
Even to thy thought and will give pause, and wait th' impulse divine ; 
Let all within thee for the time be hushed in calm repose — 
'Tis on the lake's unruffled breast the sun its image throws. 



1 Rom. xii. 2. 2 Heb. v. 14. 3 John, xv. 15. 



240 4 1 * How long halt ye between two Opinions ? 

If at the time of prayer thy heart be thus a placid mirror, then 
for certain the answer to thy petitions will not come from thy- 
self— thou wilt receive it from the Master. 

In the second place, it is by "use" alone that we acquire 
" senses exercised to discern good and evil," and hence our 
rule must be to draw from God's Word more and more deeply 
every day. No tree falls at the first stroke, and " to him that 
hath shall be given." Thou wilt thus become more and more 
sure of knowing correctly what the Holy Scriptures on all 
points mean, and wilt learn to go with greater composure of 
heart into the divine presence. Meanwhile, of this I am con- 
vinced, that the sins into which a man falls solely because, in 
spite of all his efforts and aims, he yet was unable to hit the 
mark, are the sins which will accuse him least before God. Ah 
me ! would that I had no other sins than such as these with 
which to reproach myself ! Ah me ! would that lack of know- 
ledge were the only cause of my heart being divided betwixt God 
and the world ! O shameful frivolity ! to see as we often so 
plainly do, a bait upon the hook, and to be aware that Satan 
has put it on, and yet to swallow it. O shameful indolence ! 
so frequently to know that did we but cry to heaven the bonds 
would break asunder, and yet to hold our peace. 

Alas ! that still with feeble foot. 
Uncertain and irresolute 

I stand 'twixt earth and heaven above. 
O Jesus, come ! oh haste to save me ! „ 
Break the vile fetters that enslave me, 

Draw me to Thee with cords of love. 



42. By Grace made free from Sin. 241 

42. 

33g &raee mate free from J5m. 

matchless Captain ! Thou 
First bindest round each brow 
The victor's wreath, and then 
Lead'st to the fight thy men. 

Rom. vi. 14. " Sin shall not have dominion over you; for 
ye are not under the law, but under grace." 

OH how greatly the human heart resembles a ship upon a 
stormy sea, whose prow and stern alternately rise and 
fall with the rising and the sinking wave ! I had passed 
through a painful season of weariness and sloth in the Christian 
life. At first, without being sensible of it, I gradually got into 
the way of yielding to the will of the old man. I wished not 
to be righteous overmuch, and ere I was aware, found that I 
belonged to the number of them who draw back?- All that I 
meant was to give the world its due, and, unconsciously, I be- 
came " conformed to it." 2 Long-forgotten foibles awoke once 
more. Daily self-examination was omitted, and every week I 
lowered the mark at which I aimed. Then there came a sore 
temptation, and, to my consternation, at once revealed to me 
that I had quite unlearned to deny myself anything for the sake 
of God. The discovery alarmed me. I felt as if I were an 
outlaw — as if the ground were no longer firm beneath my feet, 
and that there was nothing between me and a dreadful fall but 
lack of opportunity. My knees, however, had already become 
feeble, and I could not fly at once. Like one whom they try 
to awaken out of sleep, " In a little," I cried, and closed once 
more my slothful eyes. I forgot, however, the proverb which 
says that " deceit lurks behind delay." The opportunity came, 
1 Heb. x. 39. 2 Rom. xii. 2. 



242 4 2 - By Grace made free from Sin. 

and with it a fall. Oh how sad a fall ! I started to my feet. 
I was now sobered, and remembering " that He whom we call 
Father" judgeth, without respect of persons, according to every 
man's work, I complied with the apostle's advice, and " passed 
the time of my sojourning in fear." His admonition, " See 
that ye walk circumspectly" 1 was never out of my mind. I 
kept a diary ; I set a time for all my duties, and in the even- 
ing called myself to account for every hour I had spent ; it was 
not mine, but the Lord's. For a while this went well — as long, 
indeed, as my soul was still feeding upon the forgiveness which 
had been vouchsafed to it after its fall. In time, however, the 
radiance of that grew more faint, and, on the other hand, the 
accuser within me became more loud and inexorable. My soul 
lost its wings, and I crawled upon the ground. If I had spoken a 
needless word, or eaten too heartily of some dish, I fancied I 
had committed a mortal sin. Then there came a new awaken- 
ing. All at once a voice within me said, " Who will lay any- 
thing to the charge of God's elect? It is God that justifieth; 
who is he that condemneth ? It is Christ that died, yea rather, 
that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who 
also maketh intercession for us." It seemed as if scales fell 
from mine eyes. I woke up with a long breath, and exclaimed, 
" It is true ; I am a child, and not a slave. By grace am I 
saved, and not by the desert of works." I had long believed 
this, and had even been living upon it, but it had quite escaped 
from my memory. It seemed as if I now heard it for the first 
time, and I was deeply humbled. Oh how hard it is to tread 
the narrow path of Gospel holiness without deviating either to 
the right or left, carried away on the one side by the stream of 
licentiousness, or taken captive on the other by the snare of 
legal bondage ! We are told that a person once complained 
to Luther of his inability to distinguish the law from the 
Gospel; and that the Reformer replied, " If you could do that, 
you would justly deserve a doctor's degree;" and standing 
up and taking off his bonnet, continued, " If you could do that, 

1 Eph. v. 15. 



42. By Grace made free from Sin. 243 

you would indeed be a learned man ; for it is what neither 
St Paul nor I was ever able to accomplish." The good man, 
it would appear, had laboured hard at the task. 

A struggle to be holy is inculcated upon the disciples of 
other religions besides the Christian ; but the true mystery of 
holiness, the jewel of the perfect, is the doctrine of justification 
by free grace, and that alone. That the natural man, if left to 
himself, never lights upon it, and understands it when first 
heard by him far less than he can do anything else, is a sure 
sign that this truth in quite a peculiar sense has come down 
from heaven. 

It is the strangest thing of all, 
At first seems even for babes too small ; 
And yet at length so vast it grows, 
As if all heaven it would enclose. 

It is the riddle ne'er made plain, 
At which our reason bores in vain ; 
Yet when by its own self unveiled, 
We marvel how we ever failed. 

It is the spell of wondrous might, 
Which every book denies outright ; 
Yet not a treatise so acute 
Which it at last does not confute. 

It is the problem which in vain 
Seeks its true place at first to gain ; 
Yet every place at last it fits, 
And heaven and earth in concord knits. 

Spirit of the Father and the Son, instruct me in the mystery 
of godliness, that I may never loose it from my heart ! It is 
by grace that I am saved, through faith. That is the rock on 
which I build, and from which I must never suffer myself to be 
moved by any works of my own, be they good or bad, nor yet 
by either the chastisements or the favours of God. The well 
at which I must always wash my eyes afresh that they may be 
bright, the altar from which I must always take new embers to 
warm my heart when it grows cold, is solely the faith that I merit 
the severe judgment of God, but that by grace the judgment 



244 4 2 - By Grace made free from Sin. 

of God has been swallowed up in victory. When I seek His 
presence in solitude, in order to obtain strength for holiness, I 
never fail to find it, the moment I can enjoy in spirit that 
mystery of godliness : I might even say, the moment I bruise 
that peppercorn of life and power — for it is, in fact, fraught 
with a medicinal and fiery virtue, which penetrates all the 
members, but must first be crushed before the fiery virtue is 
experienced. It is a medicinal drop which must be . melted in 
the mouth before it can heal the heart, and calm its restless 
throbbings. Many swallow both the corn and the drop at once, 
and experience from them no good effects. These are they 
who know the word, but have no experience of the thing 
itself. 

There is no better preservative against the love of sin than 
faith in the filial privileges freely vouchsafed by God, and 
neither is there any better remedy when sin has been committed. 
If peace have then departed from thy heart, build upon the 
vacant spot a penitential altar, and peace will again return, for 
the Lord Himself will place upon it the atoning sacrifice. Can 
any one suppose that a servant who has transgressed his lord's 
will, and then with anxiety in his heart sets about amending 
his ways, is as well qualified to do good works as the child who 
has wept repentant tears upon his father's bosom, and has had 
his faults forgiven? Oh no ! the future cannot be made better 
until the evil of the past be made good. 

True love, and the disposition to do holy and righteous 
works, cannot precede the forgiveness of sins, but must always 
follow it. No doubt it might appear as if the opposite of 
this were true, from the words of the Saviour respecting the 
woman who was a sinner, " Her sins, which are many, are for- 
given ; for she loved much," 1 because He afterwards said unto 
her, " Thy sins are forgiven ; thy faith hath saved thee ; go in 
peace ; " from which it might be inferred that her forgiveness 
had been the reward of her love. Nay, is there not also a 
certain measure of love in every kind of confidence ? how much 

1 Luke, vii. 47. 






42. By Grace made free from Sin. 245 

more, then, in that faith which is full of it, and which, despair- 
ing of self, clings to the knees of the heavenly Friend, and will 
not let them go until He open His lips and pronounce the 
words, " Thy sins are forgiven ; thy faith hath saved thee " ? 
But why then did the Lord afterwards reverse the order of the 
statements, and say, " But to whom little is forgiven, the same 
loveth little"? Was not that aimed at the Pharisee who 
thought he stood in no need of forgiveness, and therefore had 
treated Him, who has power on earth to forgive sins, as if He 
had been his equal ? 

Did not the Saviour, when He said, " Her sins, which are 
many, are forgiven, for she loved much ; but to whom little is 
forgiven, the same loveth little," — intend it as an application 
of the parable which He had just before delivered? and did 
He not mean that from the abundant manifestations of love 
with which the woman approached Him, it might be inferred 
that she had received forgiveness for many sins, just as, on the 
contrary, the haughty behaviour of the Pharisee showed that 
no desire to have his sins forgiven had ever touched his heart ? 
Although, therefore, the Saviour had previously absolved her, 
still, in the presence of these self-righteous paragons of virtue, 
who were puffed up with their own perfection, and ashamed 
to have anything to do with penitent souls like her, He wished 
to express the absolution in very emphatic terms, and to de- 
clare her righteous before God and man. It is for this reason 
that He once more repeated in the hearing of all, " Thy sins 
are forgiven," and added, " Thy faith hath saved thee ; go in 
peace." Although, therefore, there certainly is a love of longing 
anterior to faith — a love that disposes the soul to confidence 
in the Saviour, can cling to His knees, and render him who 
feels it capable of making great sacrifices, in order thereby, if 
possible, to purchase the forgiveness of his sins, still the love of 
gratitude is the sole effective kind of love, inasmuch as it alone 
is accompanied with joy, is happy in itself in all that it does, 
has in its heart no disquiet, but rest — no anxiety, but peace, 
and therefore never grows weary in welldoing. Yes, doubtless, 



246 43- I am formed of the Clay. 

genuine love, and a disposition to perform holy and righteous 
deeds, does not precede forgiveness, but always follows it. 

Help me, O Christ ! that I too may experience within me 
the power of Thy death. There is in the fellowship of the 
sufferings which Thy love led Thee to endure, a power never 
to be acquired, let me do my very utmost, by the works of the 
law. If Thou chasten me, it will be for nothing but for having 
failed, every hour of my life, to recognise with humiliation of 
heart the magnitude of Thy compassion, and for having too 
seldom contemplated Thee, O crucified Love, in order that, 
inflamed by the sight, I might crucify my own lusts and desires. 
For those who are Thy disciples there now remains no guilt 
but one, and that is, the guilt of thinking too meanly of Thy 
love. That is the sin which breeds all the rest. Oh, forbid 
that I should any longer repair to other fountains for supplies 
of strength ! Thou, and Thou only, art He who can strengthen 
feeble knees and weary hands and fainting hearts, and to Thee 
I look up, O God of my salvation ! 



43. 
31 am tatttfJ of tjje (Elag. 

Man is not ofo?ie substance made ; 

His soul is breath divi7ie, 
His body but a hut of clay 

That serves it for a shrine. 
Mark, then, the limits of the two with care, 
A?id many a heart-ache thou thyself wilt spare. 

John, xx. 13. " They have taken away my Lord, and I 

know not where they have laid Him." 
Job, xxxiii. 6. " Behold, ... I also am formed out of 

the clay." 



43« I am formed of the Clay. 247 

DISCIPLE. — Alas ! I too must exclaim with the Magda- 
lene, " They have taken away my Lord, and I know 
not where they have laid Him," for He is no longer in my 
heart. 

Master. — Did He then depart of a sudden ? 

D. — I was aware of it only a few moments before, and 
prayed to Him, " Abide with us, for it is towards evening." J 
But He went. 

M. — I marvel that He went so suddenly — nay, even that He 
went at all; for the Word of Truth declares, "No man shall 
pluck my sheep out of my hand." 2 And again, " He that is 
joined unto the Lord is one spirit with Him." 3 

D. — That is why I weep : I was unprepared for it, and 
knew not how it happened. Oh, tell me if thou canst where He 
is, that I may go and seek Him. 

M. — And by what token dost thou know that He hath for- 
saken thee ? 

D. — By the sorrow with which my heart is overwhelmed. 
For hath He not said, " These things have I spoken unto you, 
that my joy might remain in you ; and your joy no man taketh 
from you " ? 4 

M. — It seems as if thou knew only one source and one 
kind of sorrow — viz., that which is experienced when the Sun 
of the spiritual heaven is overcast and the terrors of divine 
judgment fall upon the soul. But, my son, there is a sorrow of 
a different kind, and which arises when the dark cloud inter- 
cepts the natural sun and discharges its burden upon the 
earth. 

D. — Master, it seems to me that thou comminglest earthly 
with heavenly things. 

M. — Take care, my son, that thou art not confounding 
the two; there is a spiritual joy and sorrow, and there is 
likewise a bodily joy and sorrow. The apostle speaks of re- 
joicing in the Lord? of joy in the Holy Ghost? and of joy and 

1 Luke, xxiv. 29. 2 John, x. 29. 3 1 Cor. vi. 17. 

4 John, xv. 11 ; xvi. 23, 24. 5 Phil. iv. 4. 6 Rom. xiv. 17. 



248 43- I am, formed of the Clay . 

peace in believing?- Thou sayest that the cause of thy sorrow 
is the departure of thy Saviour from thee. Art thou then, 
poor soul ! destitute of an intercessor with God, and hast thou 
no advocate when thy sins afflict thee ? 

D. — Oh, master, God forbid that it should be so ! I have 
learned something of the loving-kindness of the Lord, and 
know that whoso cometh unto Him, He will in no wise cast 
out. Of that I am assured, but I would fain also feel that He 
loves me. 

M. — Thou sayest that thou hast an advocate when thy sins 
afflict thee ; and if so, no doubt thou canst also pray the prayer, 
"Abba, Father"? 

D. — Yes, I can ; for I know that since Christ has appeared 
and become my intercessor, no one can now condemn me. 

M. — If thou canst so pray, and still complainest that thou 
art unhappy, I would say, in reply, that thou hast thyself to 
blame for thy sorrow. Once thou wert cast out into the open 
field, and there was no eye to pity thee, and thy God passed 
by and saw thee in thy blood, and said unto thee, " Live." 2 
Now thou art washed, sanctified, and justified in the name of 
the Lord. 3 He has opened to thee His heart, and said — 

If me thou for thy Master choose, 

Thee for my bride I own ; 
And what thy heart sincerely rues, 

Reckon as never done. 

All this thou believest ; and with such a message sent to thee 
canst thou still be unhappy, like those who have no hope? 

D. — Master, thou searchest the inmost recesses of my heart, 
and when I look into it myself I certainly find that I am not 
so sorely troubled as those who are without hope. The deeper 
I go, if I may venture to disclose it to thee, the more it seems 
as if I heard a voice constantly saying, Peace be unto thee ! 
But the voice is very low, and my heart all the while in its 
anxiety beats so loudly that it drowns the consoling accents 
which come from beneath. 

1 Rom. xv. 13. 2 Ezek. xvi. 6. 3 1 Cor. vi. n. 



43- I am formed of the Clay. 249 

M. — My son, it would appear that as yet thou art but slightly 
acquainted with the Example Book of God's Saints. Hast 
thou not there read what the Word of Truth declares, that there 
is a peace of the soul even in the midst of trouble ? according to 
the words of the Psalmist, " In the multitude of my thoughts 
within me Thy comforts delight my soul." 1 St Paul also says, 
" We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed ; we are 
perplexed, but not in despair." 2 Nay, he tells us that a child 
of God may indeed sorrow and yet at the same time rejoice ; 
for his words are, " As sorrowful, yet always rejoicing." 3 For 
just as thou mayest see dark clouds flying in the heavens while 
the blue firmament behind them remains the same yesterday 
and to-day; or as thou mayest perchance imagine that the 
darkness which oft overspreads it reaches as far back as the 
vault extends, and yet behind the stars keep their places un- 
moved, — so in all his tribulations is it with the heart of the 
Christian who is saved by faith. 

D. — As the dew cools the heat, so, dear master, does thy 
discourse refresh my soul. I see well that I have misunder- 
stood both myself and the Lord. Speak on and correct me, 
that I may grow wise. 

M. — Observe, my son, that as man has been made of the 
dust of the earth, and dwells in a tabernacle of clay, his feelings 
do not proceed solely from the spirit which has been breathed 
into him by the Godhead, but often likewise from the tabernacle 
in which the spirit is enshrined; and consequently, that in 
questions respecting the inner life of the soul it is highly 
necessary to mark in how far its feelings are human and in how 
far they are divine, and to discriminate between what comes 
from the dust and what from the spirit. When a person is 
sorrowful without having any spiritual ground for it — when 
sorrow merely lights upon him, as the gnats do, which in sum- 
mer play about the head — in that case, the feeling certainly 
comes from the dust to which he is allied. On the other 
hand, if he be in a cheerful mood, and yet knows of no spiritual 

1 Psalm xciv. 19. 2 2 Cor. iv. 8. 3 2 Cor. vi. 10. 



250 43 • I am formed of the Clay. 

ground for cheerfulness, so as, for instance, to be able to say 
that he rejoices in the Lord ; then likewise, no doubt, have the 
sweet and pleasant sensations flowed from the earthly frame 
which he bears about with him* And if so be that at times 
the sun, the air, and the genial temperature of the elements 
can beget a gladness of heart at which we wonder, why, on the 
other hand, may not the sun and the air and the inclemency 
of the elements likewise engender in us sensations that are 
bitter and unpleasant in a manner of which we can give no 
account ? Never, therefore, ought a soul to vex itself as if it 
were forsaken of the Saviour so long as it still retains its belief 
in the Intercessor for sin. The Saviour, whose seat is in the 
inmost recess of the soul, is there under the form of mere 
testimonies respecting Him, which may sometimes, for gracious 
purposes on the part of God, be withdrawn without the soul 
having any ground for anxiety. It is only when they have 
taken away from it the Christ, who sits at the right hand of the 
Father, that the soul has just cause to conceive alarm. Inas- 
much, however, as Christ will sit at the Father's right hand, 
the same yesterday, to-day, and for ever, and will there inter- 
cede for all who are sanctified by Him, never more can 
peace be taken away from the heart of a believing Christian — 
that peace in which he can pray, " Abba, Father." 

D. — Master, as rain drops upon the parched field, so does 
thy discourse recruit my soul. My peace becomes like a 
mighty river when I rightly take to heart that the covenant of 
grace which has been made with me is so sure and steadfast. 

Man's emblem is a tree, which sinks its root 
Deep in the earth beneath, while upward shoot 
The boughs to heaven ; then marvel not to find 
A twofold law his twofold nature bind. 
To earth one part is kin, to heaven the other, 
And oft they chime discordantly together ; 
See, then, to mark in all thy weal and woe 
From which of the twain founts thy feelings flow. 



44- Thou didst hide Thy Face, &c. 251 

44. 
&fjou t»£trst ijttre Efjg tface, ant» 31 foma troubled 

Wilt thou the devil from thee drive f 
By mere debate thou wilt not thrive. 
But //"CONTEMPT and scorn thou try, 

The haughty fiend will quickly fly. 
For never yet hath he withstood 
A bold appeal to Jesus' blood. 

Psalm xxx. 7. " Thou didst hide Thy face, and I was 

troubled." 
Job, iv. 17. " Shall mortal man be more just than God? " 
Micah, vii. 7. " I will look unto the Lord ; I will wait for 

the God of my salvation ; my God will hear me." 

DISCIPLE. — Master, I come to thee in sorrow. Hast 
thou any comfort for me ? Thou seest before thee 
a soul which has fallen never again to rise. 

Master. — Tell me what soul there can be which was excluded 
by Christ the Lord, when He said, " Him that cometh unto me, I 
will in no wise cast out." 

D. — May He not have excluded those who come to Him 
for no other purpose but to smite Him on the face ? 

M. — And for what good work of His 1 didst thou smite Him 
on the face ? 

D. — Alas ! would that my head were waters, and mine eyes 
a fountain of tears, that I might bewail the greatness of my 
fall ! for know, the tempter hath emptied his quiver, and shot 
all his arrows at me. When I try to pray, they fly through my 
supplications, and when I seek access to the throne of grace, 
I confront a brazen wall. Listen to me, that I may pour out 
the affliction of my heart in all its magnitude into thine. The 

1 John, x. 32. 



252 44- Thou didst hide Thy Face, 

Lord was pleased to chastise me with one of His rods of love, 
and laid me long prostrate on a sick-bed. At this I ought to 
have rejoiced, for never is our bread so wholesome as when 
we eat it dipped in vinegar. But my soul became parched, 
like the glebe in summer's drought. For a while I panted 
after God, the living God, as the hart pants for the water-brooks ; 
but He delayed to turn His face to me, and then I turned mine 
away from Him. A breath, I know not whose, in the night 
of my soul suddenly blew out the candle of the Word ; all 
became dark, and the tempter had gained the day. For 
several months the blackest thoughts have been passing every 
hour through my soul, especially when I pray. Dreadful are 
the pangs which disease shoots through my bones ; but much 
more dreadful the arrows with which my soul is pierced. I 
hear a voice within me saying, " Has He not been unto thee 
as a bear lying in wait, and as a lion in secret places ? Forsake 
God and die." I would fain praise Him, knowing that He 
chastens us only that we may not be condemned with the 
world ; but in place of praising I blaspheme, so that, like Job, 
I curse the day of my birth, and cry out to God, " Do not 
condemn me ; show me wherefore Thou contendest with me." 
I forget that it is I who contend with Him, — Him who is my 
Maker and my Redeemer. Alas, that I dare not conceal it 
from thee ! Like old sores in the body, former lusts break 
forth afresh in my soul. At the very time I am suffering in the 
flesh, fleshly desires wake up, and thus I think : If He have 
broken His covenant with me, and withdrawn the favour which, 
in the days when I walked in the light of His countenance, was 
sweeter to me than honey and the honeycomb, — why should 
not I make a covenant with the flesh whereby to reap some 
compensation, and though but for a little to cool my tongue 
in the terrible heat? That bleeding head, with the thorny 
crown, which often in my sultriest days gazed in upon me and 
brought refreshment to my soul — oh, how can I tell, and yet, 
how dare I conceal the fact ? — that holy head I have smitten 
in the face, and called to it, If Thou be the Son of God, why dost 






and I was troubled. 253 

Thou not succour me? I have invoked the heavens and the 
earth, these wretched creatures, to bear witness against the God 
who created me. How dare I tell, and yet, how dare I hide 
it ? I have wished that there were some other God, to whom I 
might appeal my cause, and find justice. 

" Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do," 
was the prayer of the Saviour for those who nailed Him to the 
cross. Oh, why have I become acquainted with the Son of 
God only to be condemned ? for / know that I have blasphemed 
the Holy One, and seized the sceptre of His majesty that I 
might break it if I could. Master, what shall be done to the man 
who has drawn near to the Son of God for no other purpose than 
to smite Him in the face ? 

M. — Before speaking to thee, my son, I will first weep with 
thee, for sorrow that human nature has become so degenerate 
that such lamentable things as these can be related of it. Lord, 
if Thou shouldst mark iniquities, who shall stand ? But now, 
my son, let me first of all observe that, however deplorable 
may be thy temptation, still thou art not the first, and neither 
wilt thou be the last, whom the devil has brought into such 
misery and distress. Thou hast thyself mentioned holy Job, how 
he kept his feet in manifold temptations, but how, when Satan 
proceeded to touch his skin and bones, he opened his mouth 
and cursed his day. Jeremiah ventures to say, " Cursed be 
the day on which I was born, because He slew me not from 
the womb, that my mother might have been my grave." 1 The 
holy Psalmist complains, " Deep calleth unto deep at the 
noise of thy waterspouts : all Thy waves and Thy billows are 
gone over me. ... I will say unto God my rock, Why 
hast Thou forgotten me ? " 2 Even a Paul thrice besought the 
Lord that the thorn might depart out of his flesh, and thrice 
the Lord said to him, " My grace is sufficient for thee." 3 If, 
then, the heavenly Wisdom deemed it salutary for vessels so 
honourable and dear as these to be thus made sensible of their 
excessive frailty, why should a poor child like thee be so de- 

1 Jer. xx. 17. 2 Psalm xlii. 7, 9. 3 2 Cor. xii. 7, 9. 



254 44- Thou didst hide Thy Face, 

jected when taught the same lesson ? Methinks it ought rather 
to encourage thee, and inspire the hope that great graces are 
in reserve for thee at some future time. For just as we see when 
the wind blows through the forest the tops of the cedars bend, 
while the humbler shrubs remain undisturbed, so do we learn 
from the experience of holy men that it is upon the souls which 
the Lord has selected for some enterprise of moment, and upon 
none else, that Satan makes his terrible assaults. The rule he 
follows when intending to pour into a vessel a large measure of 
grace, is first of all thoroughly to empty it, and make little that 
which was great, in order that the glory may pertain to Him- 
self. To this effect is the admonition of the wise Sirach : 
" The greater thou art, humble thyself the more, and thou 
shalt find favour before the Lord ; . . . for the power of 
the Lord is great, and He is honoured of the lowly." 1 Tell 
me why is it that none of the little stars, and only the great 
moon and sun, have a retinue of clouds ? 

-D. — O master, how canst thou address such language to me, 
or how speak of such high things to one who has struck the 
Saviour in the face ? Have I not confessed to thee that I have 
committed that sin for which " there remaineth no more sacri- 
fice, but a fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation, 
which shall devour the adversaries" ? 2 And now, what possible 
consolation canst thou give me ? 

M. — God forbid that thou shouldst have been guilty of any 
such sin as that of which we read that it is impossible for those 
who have committed it to be " renewed again unto repentance." 
Condemn thyself with discretion, lest in making thyself little, 
thou at the same time depreciate the grace that is still in thee 
— an error into which souls under temptation have frequently 
fallen. 

D. — There is, no doubt, consolation in the truth of which 

thou remindest me — viz., that so long as a soul is still capable 

of repentance, it cannot be in the condition into which I 

imagined I had fallen. But will it not show you, dear master, 

1 Ecclus. iii. 18-20. 2 Heb. x. 26, 27. 



and I was troubled. 255 

the deep misery of my heart, that true repentance is the very 
thing I lack ? Nay, it seems to me as if my heart were as hard 
as stone. 

M. — Thy sorrow, dear child, has hidden thine own heart 
from thee. Thine eyes overflow with tears, and look up to 
the hills from whence cometh thine aid ; and thus sorrowing as 
thou dost, how canst thou doubt that thou repentest ? Thou 
comest imploring consolation, and opening thy heart to me 
who am but the servant. Were the Lord himself here, wouldst 
thou not hasten and open it to Him ? And dost thou still 
doubt of the reality of thy faith ? 

D. — I cannot deny that my heart is often soft, but then, again, 
it grows hard like the nether millstone. I cannot deny that 
the misery of my soul is often a great affliction to me, and that 
there may still be a little spark of faith left in my heart. It 
seems to me as if the Lord held me by a thread, although I 
do not see it, but neither can I deny that I have blasphemed 
Him, and dishonoured my Christian name, and that sinful 
thoughts have risen within me, with the mention of which I 
will not pollute thine ear. 

M. — My son, thou knowest the word of truth, that there is 
only one sin which is not forgiven either in this life or that 
which is to come, and that that is wilfully blaspheming the 
Spirit of grace by which a man has been sanctified; 1 as a 
righteous judgment upon which sin, the Holy Spirit deserts 
for ever the man who has wantonly rejected Him. Thou hast 
not sinned wilfully, for thy heart can still melt, and thy tears 
flow, and, like Israel of old, thou hast wrestled with God. It 
may be that thou hast uttered blasphemous words against the 
Son of God, and cursed the day of thy birth ; but hast thou 
also cursed the Holy Spirit, who began in thee the work of 
grace, kindled the desire of heavenly blessings in thy heart, 
imprinted the seal of God's peace vapon it, and still, in the midst 
of thy great darkness, ofttimes allures thee by many a sweet 
and bright attraction ? No : Him thou hast not cursed ; for 
1 Heb. x. 26-29. 



256 44- Thou didst hide Thy Face, 

Him thy heart still longed in thy misery. O my son, thou 
knowest so well what divine grace has withdrawn from thee, 
overlook not what it has still left. However deep may be the 
wretchedness into which a man has fallen, so long as heavenly 
love gives him tears to deplore it, all is not yet lost. Thy 
despondency flows from thy bodily weakness; let it not induce 
thee to ignore what has still been left to thee by thy God, lest 
that also may perchance be taken away. 

D. — O master, I see that " the heart of the wise teacheth 
his mouth, and addeth learning to his lips. Pleasant words are 
as an honeycomb, sweet to the soul, and health to the bones." * 
And thus are my bones refreshed by the pleasantness of thy 
discourse. But how wilt thou solve so great a riddle as that, 
in a heart which, as thou sayest, has not yet been forsaken by 
His grace, blasphemy so shocking can wake up, and that 
thoughts so impure can defile a soul which still belongs to the 
Lord ? What weapon canst thou give me in such a case for 
attack or defence ? what shield put into my hand to ward off 
these fiery darts of the wicked one ? 

M. — My son, misery like thine comes from the tempter of 
souls; and now, according to the wisdom vouchsafed me by 
the Lord, I will show thee how craftily he acts, and what is the 
weapon and what the shield which thou must use against his 
assaults. In the first place, then, know that he never makes his 
approach with noise and clamour, so that we can descry him 
afar, and stand upon our guard. For although it be said that 
he walketh about " like a roarifig lion," 2 he still contrives to 
keep his roaring, which is his eager desire for souls, secret 
until he has come near. No doubt thou didst not take suffi- 
cient heed to thyself on his first stealthy and silent advance 
towards thee, so as by watchfulness and prayer to keep him at 
a distance, which thou oughtest to have done. In the second 
place, let me say to thee, my dear child, we must never dispute 
with the devil ; and if he have advanced so near as to be able 
to shoot his fiery darts at thee, which consist in thoughts of 
1 Prov. xvi. 23, 24. 2 1 Peter, i. 8. 



and I was troubled. 257 

fleshly sin, suicide, and blasphemy, on no account think of 
discoursing with him. He is a far greater master in the art of 
disputation than thou, and if thou begin to argue with him, it 
is just as it were bringing more hay and stubble to heat his fiery 
darts the more. It was a saying of the pious Gerson, that 
devilish thoughts are like a barking dog, which only becomes 
more furious the more blows you inflict and the more stones 
you fling. Take, then, no further notice of him, but pass by 
as if thou didst not care for him, for there is nothing which he 
dislikes so much as contempt. According to the story which 
we read in the ' Lives of the Ancient Fathers,' one of them 
put the question to a brother — what he ought to do when 
troublesome thoughts suddenly entered his mind ? and received 
this answer : As they suddenly came in, so let them suddenly 
go out. Don't fancy that it is frivolity when I say that in 
place of wrangling with the devil it would be better for thee 
to play with thy little boy, or whistle to thyself a tune. More- 
over, neither must thou give him the satisfaction of appearing 
to be afraid that what he shoots into thy soul can injure thee 
or cause thee to forfeit the favour of thy Lord. Thou canst 
not hinder the birds from flying over thy head, but let them 
not make a nest in thy hair. When he presents thee with a 
long account of thy debts, amounting in all to the everlasting 
wrath of God, ask him to show thee in it the one little word 
" wilfully." 1 Until he can point out that in the account, he 
must instantly go his way. In the third place, my son, if, in 
the great flood of thy misery, there yet remain a little spark of 
faith unquenched, set thyself diligently to the study of the 
Word of God, in order that the spark may still burn ; and do 
this however keenly the devil may wish to prevent thee. How 
great is the comfort that Christ imparts in His blessed Word, 
according as it is written, " The Lord God hath given me the 
tongue of the learned, that I should know how to speak a 
word in season to him that is weary " ! 2 Above all, be careful 
on no account to remain alone. Solitary places are above 
1 Heb. x. 26. 2 Isa. 1. 4. 

R 



258 44- Thou didst hide Thy Face, 

measure dangerous to the tempted ; for as the Preacher justly 
says, " Woe to him that is alone when he falleth, for he hath 
not another to help him up." 1 Oh, how truly may a Christian 
brother, however humble, become to us a messenger of God 
in our hours of gloom ! In his exposition of the 90th Psalm, 
Luther makes the following humble confession : "It^s true I am 
a Doctor of Divinity, and there are many who own that by my 
help they have greatly profited in their knowledge of the Holy 
Scriptures. Yet it has often happened to myself to be much 
helped and recruited by the word of a brother, who was far 
from reckoning himself in any respect my equal. The word 
of a brother is often of immense weight and consequence, 
when at a time of danger it is quoted and addressed to us from 
the Holy Scripture, for the Holy Scripture has the Holy Ghost 
as its inseparable companion ; and in diverse manners does he 
employ the Word to move and encourage the heart. It was 
thus that Timothy, Titus, and Epaphroditus comforted St Paul, 
as no less did the brethren who came to meet him from Rome, 
although he was much more learned and better practised in 
the Scriptures than they." And though it should be that thou 
hast no Christian friend, it is better for thee to listen to the 
talk of all kinds of worldly people than to the devil's blasphemies. 
In the fourth place, there is no doubt that it is chiefly when 
men are labouring under weakness of body that the tempter has 
it in his power to weaken them so greatly in spirit; for the 
history of Luther and many other holy men shows that it is 
mostly at such seasons that his fiery darts are discharged, and 
that they lack the power to repel them. For this reason, for- 
get not, my son, to have recourse likewise to bodily help, and 
despise not what a skilful physician can say to thee ; according 
to the admonition of Sirach : " Honour a physician with the 
honour due unto him, for the uses which ye may have of him ; 
for the Lord hath created him, and from the Most High com- 
eth healing." 2 Oh, how much bitter suffering might have been 
spared to many a noble mind if it had sought in time some 
1 Eccles. iv. 10. 2 Ecclus. xxxviii. 1. 2. 



and I was troubled. 2 5 cf 

remedy for bodily illness ! For it may happen that while the 
body is weak, an excess of religious exercises may only aggra- 
vate spiritual affliction, and that it will be mitigated by diverting 
the mind to the many pleasant things which are to be found in 
the world, and which God has created to cheer the human 
heart. I allude specially to His beautiful works, of which 
Sirach writes, " How amiable are they all, although we can 
scarcely comprehend a spark of them ! " These things, my 
child, I have said to thee with good intention and hope in 
God, that by the help of His grace all the troubles which now 
only sadden thee, may ere long turn into joy and triumph, so 
that with the Psalmist thou mayest be able to say, "Weeping 
may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning." 
D. — Amen, so be it. 



45. 
Wfyzxz tire Spirit of tjje 3Lort» is, tfjere is Hifattg. 

What is a PlETlST? IftJiou wouldst know 
0?i whom the thoughtless crowd the NAME bestow, 
He is a Christian who by deed and word 
Offends the world, but loves a?id serves the Lord. 

But if to whom the name is due you ask : 
He is the ma?i who wears a hollow mask, 
And feigns, but never felt the love of Christ — 
Called by another name, a Formalist. 

Matt.vl 17, 18. "But thou, when thou fastest, anoint 
thine head, and wash thy face ; that thou appear not unto 
men to fast, but unto thy Father which is in secret : and 
thy Father, which seeth in secret, shall reward thee 
openly." 

1 Tim. vi. 5. " Men of corrupt minds, and destitute of the 



*26o 45. Where the Spirit of the 

truth, supposing that gain is godliness : from such with- 
draw thyself." 

2 Tim. iii. 5. " Having a form of godliness, but denying 
the power thereof: from such turn away." 

Col. ii. 16, 17. "Let no man therefore judge you in meat, 
or in drink, or in respect of an holyday, or of the new 
moon, or of the Sabbath-days : which are a shadow of 
things to come ; but the body is of Christ." 

2 Cor. iii. 17. "Now the Lord is that Spirit: and where 
the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty." 

Rom. viii. 14. " For as many as are led by the Spirit of 
God, they are the sons of God." 

THERE is no alternative. Whosoever will be the friend 
of Christ must be content to have sour looks from 
worldly men. The sea casts out her dead, and so does the 
world all who are dead to it. This was the experience of 
the holy prophets, who were made a gazing -stock both by 
reproaches and afflictions. 1 It was the experience of Christ 
the Lord; for He had to submit to hear it said of Him, 
"Thou art a Samaritan, and hast a devil." 2 "And if they 
have called the master of the house Beelzebub, how much 
more shall they call them of his household?" 3 "The dis- 
ciple is not above his master, nor the servant above his lord." 4 
The Lord was the pattern of all wisdom and charity, and if 
He did not escape being insulted with opprobrious names, 
neither shall we, let our wisdom and charity be what they may. 
Dear Lord, one thing I implore of Thee, preserve me from 
carnal prudence, so that I may never think of purchasing a 
false peace with the world. I know full well how little it costs, 
according to the proverb, " Wash my face and I will wash 
thine, so we will both look well." And again, — 

If thou wouldst live a life of ease, 
Listen and look, but Iwld thy peace. 



1 Heb. x. 33 ; Matt. v. 12. 2 John, viii. 48. 

3 Matt. x. 25. 4 Matt. x. 24 ; John, xiii. 16. 



Lord is, there is Liberty. 261 

He who will condescend to act in this way may indeed live 
quietly in the world, but I, for one, will not spend a crown to 
gain a farthing. No : like Moses, I choose " rather to suffer 
affliction" with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures 
of sin for a season. 1 Dear Lord, well do I know that the 
reproach which is borne for Thy sake is honourable, and that 
the spirit of glory rests upon it. 2 Let them call me what they 
please, I know that with Thee I bear a glorious name — a new 
name, which the world knoweth not. 3 

In these days they have again invented a name with which 
to asperse the man who, as he treads the narrow way, carries 
his piety a single inch, perhaps, beyond their own : — they call 
him a Pietist. And what does that mean ? Does it mean a 
man who has the form of godliness while denying its power ? 
and do they really look upon us as hypocrites ? Well, if in our 
days there are Christians whose hearts are not right with the 
Lord, who make an outward trade of godliness, and for that 
purpose put on the cloak of piety, without having a pious 
heart beneath it, ought this to be at all wonderful, considering 
that even the infant Church had its Ananias and its Simon the 
sorcerer? If there be not a hair in all the world which does 
not cast its shadow, who can marvel that in the vast net of the 
Church there should be found foul fish as well as good, and 
among the vessels in the great house of Christ some to dis- 
honour as well as some to honour ? 4 It is certainly possible 
that among the various sorts of people who in these days call 
Christ their Lord, there may be persons who take to heart the 
proverb, " Be half a saint and half a rogue, and you will live a 
long and prosperous life." We know, however, what sentence 
the Lord has pronounced against such hypocritical piety : it is, 
" They have their reward." 5 They have sought honour and 
gain of men, and honour and gain they have found, but that is 
all they will get. 

We must, however, concede to the world that it is not merely 

1 Heb. xi. 25. 2 1 Pet. iv. 14. 3 Rev. ii. 17. 

4 Matt. xiii. 48 ; 2 Tim. ii. 20. 5 Matt. vi. 2. 



262 45 • Where the Spirit of the 

among hypocrites that Pietism finds a home. Even among 
Christians — persons, who are really concerned about their 
salvation — there are those who may be justly upbraided with 
carrying their piety too far. At the bottom, no doubt, this is 
senseless language, for never can we have too much of any- 
thing that is really good. What I mean to say is, that a Chris- 
tian, even when his heart is right with God, may fall into a 
narrow and gloomy habit of feeling his spiritual pulse, pre- 
ferring one day to another, measuring his steps, and anxiously 
grasping even the fringes on the robe of Christianity. Now, 
inasmuch as that cannot be a right kind of Christianity which 
does not flap its wings with joy, alacrity, and freedom, and just 
as little that which contracts instead of expanding the mind, 
turns it outwards instead of inwards, and makes it melancholy 
instead of cheerful, the name of Pietism may rightly be applied 
to such narrow-mindedness. In that case, however, the name, 
strictly speaking, can signify only a false kind of piety. Piety 
ought to be the fountain of our life, but a man may take it into 
his head to make it life's only business. Piety ought to be the 
soul, but a man may attempt to make it the subject-matter, of 
all he does or leaves undone. Piety ought to be the centre of 
our life, but a man may take a notion of making it also the 
circumference. And let the eye once begin to look too much 
away from the centre to the circumference, and then room will 
be made for another infatuation. No doubt Christianity ought 
to be a tree which has not only sap in its roots but green 
leaves on its twigs and branches. Some one, however, may 
foolishly suppose that unless the selfsa?ne verdant twigs and 
branches which grow upon one tree grow also upon every other, 
there must be some defect at the root, and so may fancy it his 
duty, both in his own case and that of others, to clip the twigs 
and branches until they are all alike, or even in the room of 
some missing branch may try to insert an extraneous graft 
which has not sprung spontaneously from the root. In a garden, 
however, the green twigs and branches which grow upon one 
tree are never precisely like those which grow upon another, 



Lord is, there is Liberty. 263 

although in both the root may be perfectly sound ; and just as 
little are the branches produced by the root of faith, all per- 
fectly alike ; but in such a case it does no good to clip and 
prune, and far less to ingraft, because only what grows out of 
the root is of any value. To make the watch go right, it will 
be of no use to operate, however skilfully, upon the dial, so 
long as the works within are out of order. There is a text 
which says, " Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty ; " 1 
and as there is no liberty where such importance is ascribed to 
mere external things, so is this also a false kind of piety, and 
justly may it be nicknamed Pietism. 

At the same time it is necessary in such cases to discern the 
spirits ; 2 for here, as in various bodily diseases, the outward 
symptoms may be the same, although they arise from very 
different causes. 

In the first place, discriminate whether or not the narrow- 
mindedness which makes piety the sole business of life, to the 
exclusion of every other, belongs to the suckling stage of Chris- 
tianity, and consequently may not merely consist with a heart 
that has been recruited by grace, but may spring from a heart 
that is too full. This happens when the grace of God is pleased 
to translate the soul from the land of Egypt and the house of 
bondage into the land of promise in a sudden and unforeseen 
way, which is the method Providence prefers to take with 
strong and ardent characters like Paul and Luther. Such per- 
sons previously hated with their whole heart the holy land ; 
and, when surveying it from among the flesh-pots of Egypt, 
saw nothing but a strange and widespread darkness brooding 
o'er its plains. When, therefore, they are by divine grace set 
at once upon the heights of Carmel, and turn their eye toward 
Egypt, they behold its mountains and valleys everywhere 
covered with clouds and darkness too dense for even a single 
sunbeam to have found its way through. The laws and institu- 
tions of the state — the social intercourse of the world — its fine 
arts and sciences — all that it loves and lives for, appear like a 

1 2 Cor, iii. 17. 2 1 Cor. xii. 10. 



264 45- Where the Spirit of the 

long and weary night or a lying vision, or at the best a miser- 
able Martha service, quite unworthy of souls like Mary's. 
Having lived a long life in total oblivion of the one thing 
needful, they now wish all at once to recover their lost ground. 
They have occupied themselves long enough with secular 
affairs, and can no more be satisfied with the amount of their 
labour in the spiritual field. Accordingly, they must be always 
speaking on sacred subjects, always praying and preaching, 
and always censuring the wicked world. It often happens, 
also, that while they are thus employed the proper time cannot 
be found for the manifold duties which the routine of common 
life, nay, which nature and their family and kinsmen, impose. 
And he who cannot go along with them in this violent onset 
upon spiritual things, must consent to bear their censure for 
sloth and backsliding. What is there in all this, however, 
which ought to excite surprise? It was not like a gentle 
whispering breeze, but in storm and earthquake, that the new 
life came to souls of this description, and so at the first there 
must be a deal of rubbish and dust. In such a case it is not 
possible that the old and new things can all at once find their 
equilibrium and agree with each other. 

How can the goblet's narrow rim confine 
The swell and ferment of the frothing wine ? 

Do not, then, proceed too hastily ; do not from without pour 
water upon so sacred a flame. The best physician for a 
malady of this sort is time. When God by His grace trans- 
lates him into the kingdom of His dear Son, a man is like a 
child born into a strange world. The age of infancy is that 
of the undeveloped flower — the season when the whole spir- 
itual man still lies enclosed in the bud of strong feeling. Be- 
ware of wiping off from it with too rash a hand the morning 
dew. The longer the dew lies, the stronger will the flower 
grow, and as the noonday sun will come of itself and drink 
it up, there is no need for such precipitate action. The 
spiritual child waxes to the age of manhood, the bud unfolds 



Lord is, there is Liberty. 265 

itself, the years of infancy go past, and as manhood approaches, 
reflection also springs up out of the strong feeling. It then 
becomes manifest to him, and indeed, if he reflects at all, 
cannot escape his notice, that the exercises and outward form 
of piety would be far too narrow a circle for life, and that were 
piety to be made life's sole subject and business, the monastery 
would have to become our world. His eye turns to all the 
forms in which life goes on around us, and then he cannot 
fail to see, especially in the environs of our Christian world, 
that there is scarcely anything which has remained altogether 
unaffected by the " Light which lighteth every man that 
cometh into the world ; " 1 and that at any rate civil institu- 
tions, social relations, the arts and sciences, are all vessels 
into which it is possible to pour a new and holy life, and in 
that way secure for it a vast field of operation. The Chris- 
tian, grown up to manhood, perceives that piety is doubtless 
the fountain out of which the whole of life ought to be ferti- 
lised, but not life's single object. At the same time, he learns 
in general to direct his view not so much to the outward 
circle, the branches and the shoots of piety, but rather to the 
soundness of the centre, and to the sap and vitality of the root. 
What is true of the member is likewise true of the whole 
body. The Church of the Lord here on earth has likewise 
had its days of childhood — a time when, like the individual 
disciple, it was fed upon milk. To it the new Spirit came 
like a stormy wind and an earthquake. Then, too, did be- 
lievers' hearts so largely overflow, that their action at first 
pointed wholly and exclusively in the direction of piety, al- 
though not in the way of manifesting so much as in that of 
propagating it. All of them at once became preachers and 
heralds, who proclaimed by sound of trumpet the joyful mes- 
sage to the world ; and in this occupation they spent almost 
the whole of their days. The entire life of the old heathen 
world, with whatever elements of truth or falsehood it con- 
tained, lay before them like a Canaanitish land. It was no 
1 John, i. 9. 



266 45- Where the Spirit of the 

time for truce or treaty of peace. • On the contrary, "• Root up 
what is an abomination in the sight of the Lord" was the war- 
cry with which the spiritual Israel broke into the territory of 
the enemy. Now, doubtless, that too was a narrow and ex- 
clusive Christianity ; but yet, at the particular time, how need- 
ful was it that the activity which had gushed out of the new 
faith should, in its turn, make the confirmation and settlement 
of the faith its sole business, in order at the first to foster the 
power from which all the other gifts and energies of this life 
were to receive their consecration ! Woe to him who should 
then have attempted to pour the water of cool reflection upon 
the fire of joyful enthusiasm ! At that time also it would have 
been wrong to wipe away with too hasty a hand the morning 
dew from the flower which it was destined to foster and 
strengthen. The sun, however, ascended higher into the 
heavens ; the Christian Church speedily attained to man- 
hood ; and then likewise the Christian life deposited itself in 
all the forms which heathenism offered for its use. And as 
Israel borrowed from the Egyptians their vessels, in order 
to employ them in the service of the Lord, so, as an eccles- 
iastical Father says, did the Church appropriate the moulds 
and vessels in which the life of heathenism had manifested 
itself, and consecrate them to the truth which came from 
God. There arose a Christian state, a Christian science, and 
a Christian art. 

Wherever, therefore, it is the overflow of the heart and 
feelings in the infancy of God's children which causes an 
exclusive restriction to employments of a religious kind, and 
a repudiation so complete of whatever is not strictly Christian, 
no one ought to censure or apply unworthy names to what 
God Himself has so wisely ordained. " When I was a child/' 
says St Paul, " I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I 
thought as a child ; " and in saying this, he does not mean to 
taunt himself for what he had been. The time to taunt and 
criticise does not begin until the childishness is carried over 
into the age of manhood. Even in that case, however, it is 



Lord is, there is Liberty. 267 

necessary to draw a distinction between those who, in the 
practice of piety, direct their attention chiefly to such out- 
ward works and employments as prayer-meetings and going 
to Church, reading books of devotion, religious conversation, 
especially lecturing and censuring the world, and judging, 
condemning, and excommunicating others, while there is 
still a flow of sap in the root from which these shoots and 
branches spring up ; and those, on the other hand, in whom 
the sap of the root has gradually been dried up, and 
not till then has the grafting of external employments from 
without, and the clipping of the shoots and branches com- 
menced. For only in the case of those with whom the root 
was either dry at the first or was gradually dried up, can 
it be confidently affirmed that godliness, according to the 
expression of the apostle, has been turned into a trade. 
Religion is not a thing which may be learned, as one learns 
to make shoes or a doublet. We cannot say to the learner, 
" My friend, in so many weeks or months you will master the 
business, or in two years will become a journeyman." They 
who learn piety in that way grow up to be dry formalists, who 
will dispute about the baptismal certificate or the cradle, with- 
out thinking for a moment of the child which it contains — 
scrupulous pedants, who leave seventy lawful things undone in 
order not to fall into one that is unlawful — men who at the 
best never commit a fault, but whose whole life is nothing else. 
Moreover, it also comes about that at last the boundary be- 
tween pietism and hypocrisy can no longer be discerned. 
When at every twenty steps upon their way they build a little 
sacramental chapel, in which, however, there is no sacrament ; 
when several times a-day they ring the bells but have no 
divine worship ; when the duties of public and domestic life 
which God has assigned to them are neglected, because they 
are so busy offering oblations to Him that they have no time 
left; 1 and when, while so negligently fulfilling their own 
duties, they find leisure enough to criticise without mercy the 

1 Mark, vii. n, 12. 



268 45- Where the Spirit of the 

manner in which their neighbour fulfils his, — that is the 
pietism which, in strict language, is to be called bad. It is 
quite another thing when the heart is present in all such out- 
ward work, and when it is perchance only a scrupulous con- 
science that impels a man to seek salvation in such stated 
pious employments. Of this sort were the anxious consciences 
with which Paul had to do, and which could not be brought 
to abstain from the ordinances they had inherited from their 
fathers, and, in particular, refused to eat the flesh of sacrificed 
animals, being apprehensive that they might thereby be 
brought into fellowship with the idols to which the flesh had 
been offered. Now in all cases of this kind it would be most 
improper to have recourse to club law, for the man who is 
afraid of his conscience fears in that nothing less than God, 
and ought therefore to be always treated with respect, even 
though his groundless scruples may betray him into gross acts 
of folly. With persons who are weak in this way, how did the 
apostle Paul himself become weak, and rather than offend 
their consciences was willing to abstain from eating flesh all 
the days of his life ! 1 

But, however that may be, where the Spirit of the Lord is, 
there is liberty. As the angel asked the women at the grave, 
so may we here put the question, " Why seek ye the living 
among the dead ? " 2 The Spirit of the Lord, wherever it is 
present, submits not to be bound by outward rules, and can 
as little be held and restrained by dead ordinances. Luther 
says, " It cannot be affirmed of Christ that lo, He is here! or 
lo, there ! and neither ought it to be so affirmed of a Christian. 
And hence no man may confine either Christ or a Christian 
within certain special rules. The angel said of Him, ' He is not 
here' He has left behind Him on earth the husks of worldly 
righteousness, of piety, of wisdom, of law, and of everything of 
the sort. All these He has cast quite away. Do not therefore 
seek Him in the things which are upon earth, such as fasting, 
vigils, raiment. In these you will never find Him. They are 
1 i Cor. viii. 13. 2 Luke, xxiv. 5. 



Lord is, there is Liberty. 269 

mere shells." Remark, then, in the first place, that the Spirit 
of the Lord is far too mighty to admit of His being enclosed 
within any rules whatever; nor are there any which could 
possibly comprise all His motions. It is consequently impos- 
sible that the collective army of Christians should one and all 
wear the same uniform. It matters not although the coat, 
helmet, and boots of every soldier have each a style of their 
own. Enough that the moment the cry, " The Philistines are 
upon thee I" 1 is heard, they are seen with one unanimous 
shout flocking to the same banner and fighting for the same 
cause. Here, too, the truth is that the wind bloweth where 
it listeth ; and as thou canst not tell whence it cometh, so just 
as little canst thou tell whither it goeth; which means that no 
one may presume to place a barrier or erect a palisade in 
order to determine how far the Spirit is to drive a man. If, 
however, demagogues take the field, and attempt to subvert 
all order and laws, the case has been provided for. Because 
the apostle has likewise taught us what the true fruits of the 
Spirit are, in the following words : " The fruit of the Spirit is 
love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, 
temperance." 2 And where there are none of these, neither cer- 
tainly is the Spirit there, however great the clamour that is 
made. On the other hand, wherever such fair and goodly 
fruits are found, there also does the heart of the Christian 
comply with all order, discipline, and rule which are conso- 
nant with God's Word ; saving only that he does not become 
the slave of any one of them, but says with the apostle Paul, 
" Though I be free from all men, yet have I made myself servant 
unto all, that I might gain the more." 3 I have hands, feet, 
eyes, ears, and a tongue, and doubtless it behoves that these 
be subservient to the rule and laudable usages of man. My 
heart, however, is free, and belongs to none but Christ my 
Lord; and the service which I perform, I perform for no 
other reason or motive than free faith and free affection. And 
so it likewise is with all the decent and pious observances of 
1 Judges, xvi. 14-20. 2 Gal. v. 22. 3 x c 0I \ ix. 19. 



270 45- Where the Spirit of the 

the Christian life. Public worship I will certainly attend. I 
will take my seat at the Lord's Table, and hold fellowship with 
those who. are my brethren in the faith. In the morning when 
I rise I will pray to my heavenly Father; at meal-time will 
give thanks for my daily bread ; and in the evening assemble 
my family for worship. With all my heart will I give up the 
company of worldly people, their foolish talk, their banquet- 
ings and gluttony. If necessity require, I will rather wear 
a jacket than a dress-coat, and rather live on bread and water 
than indulge in wine and delicacies. But although, as far as 
need be, I willingly do these things with my mouth, and hand, 
and foot, my heart must be above them, and retain its freedom, 
unenslaved by any external work or custom, however laudable 
or proper. To none must it be in bondage but to Christ, who 
is my Lord ; Him only will I permit to bind or loose my con- 
science, and when He gives me a dispensation no pope or 
schoolmaster shall interfere. 

What care I for the moon's pale rays, 
When basking in the sun's bright blaze ? 

No one, therefore, must find fault with me if at any time 
I feel the desire to sing my psalm under the pleasant blue 
heavens rather than in the church, which at other times is so 
dear to me ; or to read a comedy with men of the world in 
place of reading my Bible with the pious ; or now and then 
to treat myself to a roast in place of always eating vegetables. 
It was thus that Luther boldly answered the hypocrites of his 
day, " If it was right for God to make great oxen and fat pikes 
and good Rhein wine, it cannot be wrong for me to eat and 
drink them." Neither has it been recorded in vain that our 
Lord attended the marriage in Cana, and there did not merely 
drink water and eat dry bread. At the same time, as we are 
all aware that " over-security is man's worst foe," it will also 
be right and needful to reflect that the holy apostle, when 
exhorting us " to make provision for the flesh," has wisely 
annexed, " but not to the fulfilling of its lusts ; " and that St 
Peter admonishes us to be " as free, yet not using our liberty 






Lord is, there is Liberty. 271 

as a cloak of maliciousness, but as the servants of God." J Even 
though I be subject to no outward rule or custom, I must still 
continue inwardly subject to God ; and were I to find that such 
liberty in outward things tended to withdraw my heart from 
Him, the bondage would again recur, but now it would be to 
the fleshly gratification, as formerly to the spiritual ordinance; 
now to pleasure, as formerly to obligation. It still continues, 
however, to be bondage and idolatry, whether thy idol be Baal 
or Moloch; for it is written, " Thou shall serve the Lord thy 
God, and Him only." 

Let every man, therefore, prove his own heart, whether, in 
the free use he makes of the good things of life, he still like- 
wise keeps a clear conscience, so that in the midst of his 
enjoyment he can heartily pray to God ; and in cases where 
he cannot do that, let him abstain, for it is also written, " All 
things are lawful unto, me, but all things are not expedient." 
You may safely bring iron near a fire, but not wax or paper. 
It seems to me a very instructive story that is told of the pious 
hermit, Nicholas von der Fluhe. One day he received a visit 
from a vain fop, very gaudily arrayed, who put to him the 
question, " Holy brother, what think you of my dress ? " to 
which the pious man replied, — "If thy heart be good, so also 
are thy clothes ; but if thy heart had been good, thou wouldst 
scarcely have dressed thyself in clothes like these." 

All, then, dear Master, that I can do, is to implore of Thee 
to keep me in the liberty purchased for me by Thy dear life 
and death, that I may know no other righteousness save that 
which comes from Thy precious merit, and may seek neither 
righteousness nor salvation in any outward thing which I either 
do or leave undone, but solely in this, that my heart cleaves 
in strong faith to Thee, and imbibes from Thee its strength 
and its peace. All external statutes and ordinances, and all 
pious usages, however beautiful they may be, are not beautiful 
or lofty enough to make me their slave, being as I far more 
am a servant to Thee. Inasmuch, then, dear Lord and Saviour, 
1 1 Peter, ii. 16. 



272 4-6- The Heart is Deceitful. 

as I am Thy servant, I will cordially subject myself to all rule 
and decent custom from free love ; for this, as it was done by 
Thyself, I look upon as being wholly consonant with Thy 
desire. If, however, I should at any time use my liberty in 
such a way as to impair the subjection of my heart or the bond 
of my affection to Thee, be pleased at once to take me under 
the discipline of Thy Holy Spirit, in order that the liberty, that 
precious privilege which Thou hast purchased for me, may not 
be evil spoken of, 1 but that at all times, and in all ways, I may 
walk worthy of the name of a disciple of Jesus Christ. Help 
me to this by Thy grace. 



46. 

®%z &ZKtt is EeceftM. 

Thou mournest that whole years are gone 
Ere sinners are made saints ; 
My faith, when told it can be done 
In a whole lifetime, faints. 

For enterprises great, you know, 
Are in the execution slow ; 
And can there be a work so great 
AS RUINED SOULS TO RE-CREATE ? 

If God, as Holy Scripture says, 
To make the world took six FULL days, 
No marvel MANY A YEAR should fleet, 
Ere the new birth is found complete. 

Jer. xvii. 9. " The heart is deceitful above all things, and 

desperately wicked : who can know it ? " 
Psalm xxv. 5. " Lead me in Thy truth, and teach me : for 

Thou art the God of my salvation ; on Thee do I wait all 

the day." 

1 Rom. xiv. 16. 



46. The Heart is Deceitful. 273 

Ecclus. ii. 2. " Set thy heart aright upon God, and con- 
stantly endure." 

IT is certainly disheartening to observe that even when, as 
the effect of faith, the Sun of righteousness has risen upon 
a human heart, the rays penetrate so slowly and gradually into 
all its depths and corners. It does indeed require a long time 
to fill a man so thoroughly full of light " as to have no part 
dark," 1 either in his head or in his heart. We cannot contem- 
plate any of the stations or relationships in which we stand 
towards others with a perfectly clear and unclouded eye. The 
deceitfulness of sin mingles in the view we take of them all. 
Of this, however, we are not aware so long as such relation- 
ship lasts. Just as objects to which we are too near seem, 
when we inspect them, confused, and are seen in their true 
light only when viewed from a distance ; so must every rela- 
tionship in which a Christian has been living lie a considerable 
way behind ere he can possibly appreciate the power exerted 
by self-deception over him, even in the commonest situations. 
I am astonished at the vast confidence which many entertain 
that they see all things in the right light and do all things in 
the right way. It seems to me that experience should have 
taught every one rather to take for granted beforehand that, 
in whatever circumstances he may be placed, he only sees 
some things with a clear and untroubled eye, many things 
through magnifying or diminishing lenses, but by far the most 
things through coloured glass. You talk of experience ! but 
until a man has advanced so far in repentance and faith as to 
have discovered the black peppercorn in the heart, which is 
the name the Arabians give to self-love, he may wander about 
on every hand and yet experience nothing. 

If thou wouldst have thy compass safely guide thee, 
Look to the loadstones that may be beside thee. 

What advice, then, is to be given to one who by the help of 

1 Luke, xi. 36. 
S 



274 4-6- The Heart is Deceitful. 

the Spirit of God has become sensible of the enormous amount 
of self-deceit which incessantly pursues even the sincere Chris- 
tian ? There are remedial means and appliances. But before 
mentioning them, it must be premised that, in order to learn 
the immeasurable depth at which the disease is seated, thy 
soul must be kept in the proper frame and posture. Be not too 
soft and faint-hearted, nor yet too hot and impatient. Learn 
by degrees to tolerate thyself. 

Man's heart is an abyss profound ; 

Dig deep if thou wouldst reach the ground ; 

And call, when weary with the spade, 

Unflinching patience to thine aid. 

If God be pleased with thee to bear, 

Why shouldst thou of thyself despair ? 

This is an admonition which the soul at every new mortify- 
ing discovery should take home. As to the remedies, we 
would say to thee first of all, " Go into thy closet." That is 
the place in which all the stations and relations in which we 
stand to those about us, as husbands, wives, friends, superiors, 
and domestics, ought to be passed in review, and, under a 
sense of the divine presence, made the subject of special 
reflection. Many of these have come down to us from the 
time when we had other masters than Christ, and have not yet 
been thoroughly reformed. Moreover, if our purpose be to 
mortify the old Adam, we shall find that in some of them we 
still give free rein to his wiles, or it may also happen that for 
lack of watchfulness certain weeds once suppressed have again 
acquired strength, and are quietly luxuriating. In all such 
cases a spiritual Passover must be celebrated afresh, and from 
every corner into which it has crept the old leaven must be 
purged out by the new leaven of godly sincerity and truth. 
Let not the question which you put to yourself be simply, Am 
I a Christian ? but let it further be, Am I a Christian father ? 
— a Christian friend ? — a Christian master ? — a Christian sub- 
ject? — and a Christian man of business ? Now, to ascertain all 
this you will require a mirror, and the mirror is the Word of 






46. The Heart is Deceitful. 275 

God, which holds up to us noble patterns and portraits of every 
description. Thus the boy may ask himself, Am I a Christian 
child like Jesus, who was in all things subject to His parents, 
and increased in wisdom and favour with God and man ? 1 
The youth may inquire, Am I a Christian youth like Timothy, 
fleeing youthful lusts, and following after righteousness, godli- 
ness, faith, love, patience, and meekness ? 2 So too the man : 
Am I a Christian man like Paul, and can I, like him, say that 
I have laboured more abundantly than they all, yet not I, but 
the grace of God that was with me? 3 In like manner may the 
grey-haired veteran ask himself, Am I, in my old age, like 
Simeon, who could not depart in peace until his eyes had seen 
the Saviour ? 4 Or the father : Am I Christian father, never 
provoking my children to wrath, but, according to the apostle's 
exhortation, bringing them up in the nurture and admonition 
of the Lord ? 5 And so likewise the mother : Am I a Christian 
mother, such as the pious Eunice, who taught her son Timothy 
from a child the Holy Scriptures? 6 And so too may the 
Christian master put to himself the question, Do I walk from 
morning to night in my household as one who knows that I 
have a Master in heaven with whom there is no respect of per- 
sons ? 7 The Scriptures are thus full of holy types and patterns ; 
and yet there is nothing which humbles us more than the daily 
and attentive contemplation of the holy Lamb of God. Oh, 
how marvellous an example is His ! adapted alike for male and 
female, for the little and the great, for men of low and men of 
high degree. The whole narrative is written for this purpose. It 
is so high above the ways of men, and yet is so human and so 
benign. At first it shines like a star, too remote in the heavens 
for us to reach, and then again it rises like a ruddy dawn in 
every particular heart ; at first, like the blue firmament from 
afar, it fills the bosom with earnest longings, and then is again 
transformed into human flesh and blood. Unquestionably 

1 Luke, ii. 52. 2 1 Tim. vi. 11. 3 1 Cor. xv. 10. 

4 Luke, ii. 29, 30. 5 Eph. vi. 4. 6 2 Tim. i. 5 ; iii. 15. 

7 Eph. vi. 9. 



276 4-6- The Heart is Deceitful. 

there is no light, either to be found or imagined, which is so 
rich in grace, and so efficacious in penetrating and dispersing 
the thick mist of self-delusion, as that which radiates from the 
image of Jesus Christ. 

It may also be Salutary to study in private other religious 
books, and especially the example of pious persons. In par- 
ticular, a great blessing attaches to Biographies. From these 
we learn how manifold and diverse are the gifts of divine grace, 
and how rich and abundant the heavenly blessings with which 
the Lord endows the members of His Church. They likewise 
show that there are certain fundamental laws in the kingdom of 
God to which every one must subject himself; and teach us in 
particular to our shame that at all times, and not merely in the 
apostolical age, those only make their way into the kingdom of 
heaven who with violence and force press into it. x But of all 
that a Christian can read for his edification, and particularly 
for his growth in self-acquaintance, nothing is so precious as 
the dealings of God with individual souls, which call aloud to 
us, "Be ye followers of me, even as I also am of Christ." 2 
Only, due attention must be paid to the clause, " as I am of 
Christ" in order that one may still remain our Master, and 
each of us in his own peculiar way follow Him. Moreover, it 
is with much reading of religious books as with the supply of 
oil to a lamp, — care must be taken not to pour too much upon 
the flame, unless, indeed, we wish to put it out. Rather ought 
all religious books to be like streamlets, which, as they emanate 
from the Book of books, guide us back to that great and 
goodly fountain. 

In like manner, many pious Christians have found it con- 
ducive to their spiritual welfare to keep a reckoning with them- 
selves in Diaries ; and doubtless many blessings are connected 
with the practice. There is nothing for which a human 
memory is so ill adapted as to retain a constant and lively 
recollection of the times when the water-floods roared around 
us, and the pit opened its mouth as if it would swallow us up, 

1 Luke, xvi. 16 : Matt. xi. 12. 2 1 Cor. xi. 1. 



46. The Heart is Deceitful. 277 

and when — to put to shame our despondency — the hand of 
God was marvellously stretched from heaven to take hold of us, 
as David, the servant of the Lord, experienced " at the time the 
Lord delivered him from the hand of all his enemies," and as 
he has thus described it : " He sent from above, He took me, 
He drew me out of many waters." 1 Oh, how forgetful the 
children of men appear to be of the lessons which they are 
taught respecting God's fatherly care and wondrous compas- 
sion, and the salutary uses of affliction ! seeing that, although 
the Lord has already a hundred times guided our feet through 
the deep waters, we are yet, in every new emergency, ready to 
repeat the cry, "Lord, we perish." There can be no doubt, 
therefore, that it is a forcible discourse which a diary addresses 
to a man when it presents to his view the numberless occasions 
on which his soul in its trepidation exclaimed, " I am cut off 
from before Thine eyes," 2 and was then afresh compelled to 
acknowledge with the Psalmist, " Weeping may endure for a 
night, but joy cometh in the morning;" or to say with Joachim 
Neander, in his powerful hymn, — 

" How oft in danger o'er my head 
The eternal God His wings hath spread ! " 

That itself is a goodly blessing which may be derived from 
Christian diaries. But another reason for which these books 
may be commended is, that they serve as a directory how to 
walk "circumspectly, not as fools but as wise," 3 — that they fix 
and preserve to all times the blessing of those bright glimpses 
which the Lord now and then vouchsafes into His mercy and 
our unfaithfulness, so that when they have been long kept they 
cry aloud with trumpet-tone to the soul, "Know that the Lord 
leadeth His saints in a strange way."* Notwithstanding, how- 
ever, diaries have also their attendant dangers. The soul may 
come at last to reckon up in the Lord's presence the fruits 
which His grace has allowed to grow in the garden of the heart, 

1 Psalm xviii. 16. 2 Psalm xxxi. 22. 

3 Eph. v. 15. 4 Psalm iv. 4 — Luther's vers. 



278 4.6. The Heart is Deceitful. 

and quite forget that there is no other ornament, no courtly 
robe, in which it can be acceptable in His sight, than the 
blood and righteousness of Christ. Another, again, may begin 
to keep a register of the blossoms on the tree of his spiritual 
life — those blissful feelings which the Lord vouchsafes — and 
to torment himself at the disconsolate hours he has passed, 
which have probably originated in nothing but bodily languor 
and infirmity. In short, there is danger of a man becoming 
enamoured of himself and ceasing to walk before his God in 
simplicity, like a happy child who has been saved by grace. 

But of all the ways in which his lines can fall to the child 
of God who is anxious to be saved from the snares of self- 
delusion, the most pleasant is when God vouchsafes to him 
the gift of a faithful friend. Such a friend is, indeed, a strong 
defence, and of this the sages of the olden time were sensible. 
The wise son of Sirach says, " He who hath found such an one, 
hath found a treasure." 1 Solomon the preacher thus writes : 
" Two are better than one ; for if they fall, the one will lift up 
his fellow : but woe to M171 that is alo?ie when he falleth, for he 
hath not another to help him up. . . . And if one prevail against 
him, two shall withstand him, and a three-fold cord is not 
quickly broken." 2 The Lord Himself sent forth His disciples 
in pairs ; and St Paul exhorts, "Comfort yourselves together, 
and edify one another." 3 Oh, how well can a faithful friend 
edify us and promote our welfare, especially when we not 
only seek the refreshment of his counsel on occasional and 
transitory emergencies, but when we can take him along with 
us in testing the matters we have on hand in our everyday 
life, and can say to him, " You must, as my friend, strictly ob- 
serve my habitual conduct, and never be pleased with aught 
that is displeasing to Christ the Lord " ! How easily the eye 
of a friend detects what escapes our own, however clear-sighted 
it may be ! for, as the Easterns say, " The sharpest knife does 
not cut its own handle" The whole town may ring with the 
evil report of some fault we have committed, without ourselves 

1 Ecclus. vi. 14. 2 Eccles. iv. 9-12. 3 1 Thess. v. 11. 



46. The Heart is Deceitful. 279 

in the least suspecting it. And in such a case, how good it 
is that even the clamour of enemies, so far as it is true, should 
reach us through the gentle mouth of a friend, and thus teach 
us a lesson ! Yet how often it happens that not even the 
mouth of a Christian friend dares to speak a word of truth, 
and pleads such excuses as, " I fear he would take it ill," " I 
fear it might offend him " ! But he who takes offence at the 
word of truth, or at reproof that comes from the mouth of a 
friend, has certainly never taken home to himself the reproofs 
of the Holy Spirit. In such a case the ground has not yet 
been thoroughly digged. No ; the main point in all Christian 
friendship unquestionably is, that the parties shall stand on 
such a footing as to be able affectionately and without fear or 
anxiety to exercise the office of censors towards each other, 
firmly assured that they shall reap nothing but brotherly grati- 
tude for their pains. 

These are the means of grace by which the deceitfulness of 
sin is ever more and more exposed to view. If, however, we 
find that in spite of our honest fight and struggle against it, 
many a weakness continues to grow rank, and is not over- 
powered by the new life from God, we may yet in such a case 
take comfort from the thought that the heavenly Gardener 
knows His appointed time and hour, and that even foibles of 
that description will be made to work for good to the soul that 
is sincere. We must just learn to have patience with ourselves. 
The fact is, as expressed by the Eastern pro verb, > that "He 
who will not mount the ladder step by step, will never reach 
the roof of the house." Do not examples such as that of 
Luther show that foibles of the sort are often so closely con- 
nected with the virtues which make one man an abler instrument 
of good than another, that it must needs be said, " Let the 
tares grow together with the wheat until the time of harvest " ? 
The frailties of one man are left unsubdued for the sake of his 
brethren, because they hinder the Gospel from shining in him 
with all its brightness, and thereby adapt him better for minis- 
tering to those weak members whose eye is yet unable to bear 



280 46. The Heart is Deceitful. 

the pure light. To another, as in the case of Paul, the thorn 
in the flesh is left, lest he should be exalted above measure, 
through the abundance of his gifts. 1 It would seem, indeed, 
that the infirmities of the Christian serve the same purpose as 
heather, grass, and weeds, which protect the growth of the tree 
while it is still weak, but which, when it has attained height 
and strength, it has power of its own to suppress. No doubt 
all depends on the stout and earnest resolution never to look 
back after the hand has once been put to the plough. 2 A 
vigorous attack is half the battle ; and where such firm resolu- 
tion is wanting, the infirmities of which we speak never come 
to an end. Rather are such irresolute Christians like the 
weak sorts of grain, which have always weeds and grass grow- 
ing among them, because they are too feeble to overtop and 
suppress them. And also thus it is that we see certain Chris- 
tians of a doubtful hue who have never advanced so far as to 
renounce obedience to all other masters but the one, and who 
consequently are all their life long like the slave, who no doubt 
would fain be free from his chain, because it hurts him, but 
who would also fain keep hold of it, because it is of gold. 
God grant that in such cases the tares may not grow so rank 
as at last to choke the wheat ! He who aspires to the honour 
of having the Lord for godfather must bring no bastards to the 
baptismal font. 

Alas ! how must he sweat and weep, 
At every step, who climbs the steep 

And thorny path to heaven ! 
To reach that high and blest abode 
Baffles all strength, save that by God 

To prayerful pilgrims given. 

Yet He who measured earth and skies, 
Has also set by counsel wise 

A limit to thy grief; 
And come it will, the hour which He 
Has chosen as the best for thee, 

And bring at last relief. 



1 2 Cor. xii. 7. 2 Luke, ix. 62. 



47- A jtist Man falleth and riseth up again. 281 

47. 

& just JHan talletfj anti rtsetfj up again* 

" Alas ! I often fall, " / ter thee say. 

My child, let not these falls thy heart dismay ; 

But if the faithful hand thou hold not fast 

Which safely guides thee, then thy doom is cast. 
His fall made Peter stronger than before — 

When Judas fell, he fell to rise no more. 

Prov. xxiv. 16. "A just man falleth seven times, and riseth 
up again : but the wicked shall fall into mischief." 

Luke, xxii. 61, 62. " The Lord turned, and looked upon 
Peter. And Peter remembered the word of the Lord, how 
He had said unto him, Before the cock crow, thou shalt 
deny me thrice. And Peter went out, and wept bitterly." 

Matt, xxvii. 3, 4. " Then Judas, which had betrayed Him, 
when he saw that He was condemned, repented himself, 
and brought again the thirty pieces of silver to the chief 
priests and elders, saying, I have sinned in that I have 
betrayed the innocent blood." 

IF in the life of the Christian the sun is often clothed in 
sackcloth, and his path lies through storm and rain, the 
sacred Scriptures nevertheless present us with striking instances 
that even our falls do not put us to shame, provided that we 
can contrive to rise again ; and that it is to the sickliest of 
His children that the faithful and affectionate hand of their 
Lord and Master is specially held out. How many have 
fallen, and from the exa7nple of Peter have gained strength to 
rise again ! It is a great mercy that God has in the sacred 
Scriptures recorded this example for our use ! 

He whose temperament is like Peter's — soft in the morning 
and hard at night, all fire to-day and all frost to-morrow — is 
the readiest to despair of the Lord's ability to rear out of such 



282 47- -A j us t Man falleth and riseth up again. 

material a fabric to His glory. And yet it was to this apostle, 
and to no other, that the Lord addressed the words, " Thou 
art Peter, 1 and upon this rock I will build my Church ; and 
the gates of hell shall not prevail against it." 2 We are aston- 
ished, but our astonishment would probably not be quite as 
great if we knew how poor and uncouth were the building 
materials which the Lord had at His disposal in the hearts of 
the other disciples. How weak they were in the faculty of 
intelligence, how greatly they misunderstood His plainest say- 
ings, are facts of which manifold striking instances are men- 
tioned. 3 Doubtless, also, in their hearts there was much, very 
much, for divine grace to purge away; as, for example, the 
incredulity of a Thomas, 4 and the intemperate zeal of a John. 5 
One thing, however, they possessed — they were children, and 
out of children something may be made, for they submit to be 
trained ; and therefore, great although their poverty was, the 
Lord was confident of success, and rejoiced in spirit, and said, 
"I thank Thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that 
Thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and 
hast revealed them unto babes." 6 

It has not unfrequently happened to me to hear a person 
say, that he could not conceive how one who, like Peter, had 
affirmed, "Lord, to whom shall we go? Thou hast the words 
of eternal life ; and we believe and are sure that Thou art that 
Christ, the Son of the living God," — could afterwards deny his 
Master, and say, with an oath, " I know not the man." Of 
that I am not so sure, for 

Wind and weather overnight, 

Full many a tender flower may blight. 

No doubt the man who has once fallen is attacked by the 
whole world; but, after all, does not all depend upon the 
single point, what weight a person attaches to telling a lie ? If 
the dyke which ought ever to stand erected between the heart 

1 The name signifies rock— John, i. 42. 2 Matt. xvi. 18. 

3 Matt. xvi. 6-9 ; Luke, xviii. 34 ; Mark, ix. 10 ; John, xiv. 8. 

4 John, xi. 16 ; xx. 25. 5 Luke, ix. 54. 6 Luke, x. 21. 






47- A just Man falleth and riseth up again. 283 

of a Christian and falsehood have been broken down — if, be- 
tween the truth on one side and the falsehood upon the other 
the compromise vulgarly termed a white lie have been made — 
and if a lie of that sort glide over the lips as lightly as the 
word of truth — I do not know whether in the hour of trepida- 
tion and danger many who now boast with Peter, " Though all 
men should be offended because of Thee, yet will I never be 
offended," x would not fall as that disciple fell. And even 
though we might not on that night have fallen like him, how 
many of us would have stood at his side when, in the face of 
the judges who had crucified the Lord, he cast the testimony, 
" We ought to obey God rather than men. The God of our 
fathers raised up Jesus, whom ye slew and hanged on a tree. 
Him hath God exalted with His right hand to be a Prince and 
a Saviour, for to give repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of 
sins. And we are His witnesses of these things ; and so is 
also the Holy Ghost, whom God hath given to them that obey 
Him"? 2 — how many of us would have stood by his side when 
he submitted to be beaten with rods, and " departed from the 
presence of the council rejoicing that he was counted worthy 
to suffer shame for His name"? 3 When the Saviour was 
nailed to the cross, Peter was of those who drew back ; 4 but 
when it behoved him to verify the words which Jesus had 
spoken respecting him, saying, " Whither I go, thou canst not 
follow me now, but thou shalt follow me afterwards" 5 he did 
not draw back, but by actual deeds became a witness of the 
sufferings of Christ, 6 followed in his Master's footsteps even to 
the ignominious tree, and entered into the fellowship of His 
cross. How many of us who stand up and reproach him 
would have followed the Saviour so far? No, Peter! it was 
no unmeaning word when thou didst say to Jesus, "Lord, 
Thou knowest all things ; Thou know est that I love Thee." 

In what more consolatory way for all of unstable heart who 
stand with wavering purpose between heaven and earth could 

1 Matt. xxvi. 33. 2 Acts, iv. 19 ; v. 29-32. 

3 Acts, v. 41. 4 Heb. x. 39. 5 John, xiii. 36. 6 1 Pet. v. 1. 



284 47- A J usi Man falleth and riseth up again. 

He, whose strength is made perfect in the weak, have mani- 
fested His power ? Oh, how often, when I have felt my hands 
grow weary and my knees faint — when I have staggered with 
uncertain steps from side to side, and sighed, 

Oh, when will this dim twilight pass away, 
And I an outlet find to perfect day ? — 

how often has the example of Peter helped the fallen child to 
regain his feet ! 

It is true that a long time must have elapsed before, in 
Peter's case, the cure reached its final stage. We learn that 
even in after-life, when he had gone forth to preach the name 
of Christ, not merely did the old Peter still conflict with the 
new, but that the new was overcome. Paul's account of the 
matter, 1 no doubt, is by many represented in a far worse light 
than it deserves. They suppose that the disciple had wholly 
lost the light of true knowledge, and that he who before, in the 
council of the apostles and elders at Jerusalem, and in the 
presence of a multitude of believers, had been courageous 
enough to challenge the zealots of the law, and to say, "Now 
therefore why tempt ye God, to put a yoke upon the neck of 
the disciples, which neither our fathers nor we were able to 
bear? But we believe that through the grace of the Lord 
Jesus Christ we shall be saved, even as they," 2 — had yet pub- 
licly disowned the grace of Christ, and preached up the right- 
eousness which comes solely from the law. That, however, was 
not the case. All he did was, that when the zealots were 
come from Jerusalem, he abstained from eating in company 
with the Gentiles, in order not to transgress any longer the 
legal ordinance ; and so did the others who were with him. 3 
By acting thus, no doubt, he showed that he feared men more 
than God, and sinned against his better knowledge. It was 
for this that his brother Paul reproved him, and that he humbly 
submitted to the reproof; for although the apostle does not 
expressly say so in his epistle, such must have been the case, 
1 Gal. ii. 11, 12. 2 Acts, xv. 10, 11. 3 Gal. ii. 12, 13. 



47- A just Man falleth and riseth tip again. 285 

seeing that otherwise Paul could not, in addressing the Gala- 
tians, have referred to the reproof. Now, no doubt, it is 
shameful that even in an apostle the fear of man could have 
so far prevailed over his better knowledge ; and this may- 
well awaken sad reflections upon the greatness of human 
frailty, and induce us with double self-distrust to take home 
the admonition, " Let him that thinketh he standeth take heed 
lest he fall," and to renounce all reliance upon our own 
strength. On the other hand, however, it likewise furnishes a 
testimony of some importance to the truth, that in a human 
heart much grace and not a little frailty may for a time coexist 
side by side. And such a testimony is fraught with encourage- 
ment ; for this Peter was the same who on the day of Pentecost 
laid the foundation-stone of the Christian Church, rejoiced to 
be beaten with rods for the name of Jesus, and afterwards fol- 
lowed his Master to the cross. Have patience, therefore, with 
thyself, thou weak-hearted disciple, seeing that God has so 
much patience with thee. 

But how came it to pass that the child who fell so often 
nevertheless always regained his feet ? He did indeed often 
fall, but never once did he let go the hand that led him ; 
and this hand lifted him up. It was no untruthful word 
when he said, "Lord, to whom shall we go? Thou hast 
the words of eternal life ; " and upon another occasion, 
" Lord) Thou knowest that I love Thee." Hence was it that 
every fall brought forth repentant tears, and repentant tears 
increased affection, as is so charmingly described after his 
denial. He was still standing by the fire in the court of the 
high priest when the door of the building at the back opened, 
and the Saviour came forth from the judgment-seat ; the cock 
then crowed the second time, and "the Lord turned, and 
looked upon Peter : and Peter remembered the word of the 
Lord, how He had said unto him, Before the cock crow, thou 
shalt deny me thrice ; and Peter went out, and wept bitterly" 1 
Sharp, no doubt, was the bitterness of these tears — they 
1 Luke, xxii. 61, 62. 



286 47- A just Man falleth and riseth up again. 

burned like aqua fortis, and therefore had power to consume 
away even the black stain of the denial. Well would it have 
been for Judas if he could have wept such tears. 

Probably when Judas appeared before the chief priests and 
elders, saying, "I have sinned in that I have betrayed the 
innocent blood," there was still time to have had recourse to 
the friend of sinners. Why then, unhappy man, didst thou 
go to those cold-hearted hypocrites, who threw back thy 
money with a " What is that to us ? see thou to that " ? Why 
didst thou not hasten to Him whose innocent blood thou 
hadst betrayed? Why didst thou not from the foot of the 
cross lift up thy hands to Him in supplication ? No doubt 
the arms which used to be extended to every sinner imploring 
pardon were then nailed to the accursed tree, but for certain 
He would not have said to thee " see thou to that ; " and though 
He could not have stretched forth His hand, His closing eyes 
at least would have intimated that thou wert forgiven. In the 
heart of Judas, however, there was no longer either love or 
faith. There are some to whom the saying which the meek 
and gentle Son of God uttered against His betrayer sounds 
stern and severe : " The Son of Man goeth as it is written of 
Him : but woe unto that man by whom He is betrayed ! it 
had been good for that man that he had not been born." 1 
But have they whom this offends ever cast a look into the 
night of a human heart in which the capacity to believe and love 
has been extinguished — a heart in which avarice has withered 
up the root of all faith and affection? The hints which 
Scripture gives explanatory of the black deed of the betrayer 
are few ; but, in my opinion, they are sufficient to enable us to 
understand the final fall from which he never rose. "Judas 
was a thief, and had the bag, and bare 2 what was put there- 
in ; " 3 and when the self-forgetful affection of Mary brings an 
offering that greatly exceeds her means, the thief comes to her 
under the mask of a friend of the needy and asks, " Why was 

1 Matt. xxri. 24. 2 May also mean " took of what was given." 

3 John, xii. 6. 



47- A just Man falleth and riseth tip again. 287 

not this ointment sold for three hundred pence, and given to 
the poor?" 1 These few words seem to me enough to dis- 
close the blackness of the man's heart, If he had ever been 
the friend of God he could not have been so with more than 
half a heart ; and his case verifies the proverb, that " He who 
only gives the half of his heart to God gives the whole of it 
to the devil." In one respect the love of money is worse than 
every other vice that poisons our frail blood, in that it deadens 
our liveliest sensibilities, and withers up the soul. He who 
at the side of Jesus could continue to be a thief of money, and 
of money which was destined for the poor — -he who under the 
eye of Jesus could feign compassion for the indigent while he 
was thinking of his own advantage — must have had a frame of 
mind which can hardly be imagined. Could there have been 
any communion with God, any sincere prayer to Him ? It is 
impossible. He who played the hypocrite in the sight of 
Christ was beyond all doubt likewise a hypocrite in the sight 
of God. If in his heart there had been the slightest suscep- 
tibility of love, how could he have resisted when He "who 
knew that He was come from God and went to God" rose 
from supper to wash the disciples' feet, and knelt even at the 
feet of a Judas ? But the voice of affection could expect no 
responsive echo from a heart that was dead — dead as the 
metal to which it had been sold. It is written, that having 
received the sop, he went immediately out, '•''and it was 
7iight." 2 That night without was but a counterpart of the 
night within his soul. He had ceased in his daily walk to 
keep hold of the hand of God, and so when he fell the hand 
of God did not keep hold of him, and this was the reason why 
he could not rise from his fall. No doubt it is written that 
" when he saw that Jesus was condemned to die, he repented 
himself; " 3 but, unlike that of Peter, his repentance was with- 
out tears. It was the repentance of terror and not of sorrow 
for sin — the repentance which fears the punishment, not that 
which would gladly have endured the penalty, if it could but 

1 John, xii. 5. 2 John, xiii. 30. 3 Matt, xxvii. 3. 



288 47- ^ J us t Man falleth and riseth up again. 

have undone the guilt. For this cause he was afraid to face 
God. Here God's eye had looked out at him from his con- 
science, and he imagined that in escaping from his conscience 
he would escape from God's eye. 

Here stood he hid behind the shade, 
There stands in open view displayed ; 
And all that once his soul dismayed 
Has with him to the judgment gone. 
Poor man ! self-cheated and undone ! 

Thrice wretched is the transgressor to whom there is nothing 
left but a tearless repentance. Such a repentance preys on a 
man's flesh and bone, and wastes it like a gangrene, leaving 
him, when it has spent its force, undone. For certain there 
is no class of sinners to whom, in passing sentence, divine 
justice will apply so variable a rule as that of suicides. For 
is not suicide often, as it were, the last convulsive and in- 
voluntary gust of a storm which has been raging for years in 
the bodily tabernacle ? In those cases, however, in which it 
manifests its true nature, and is the copestone to a life-long 
slavery to sin, and where the sinner leaps into the dread 
abyss because sin has chased him over hill and valley, all 
weary, to the brink, at which the last act of his life is the 
greatest of his misdeeds and he dies, — oh ! can anything be 
more horrible than such a suicide as that ? 

One thing, therefore, O my Father and my God, do I im- 
plore of Thee, and it is this — if my weakness be so great that 
I cannot avoid falling, vouchsafe repentance to my heart, and 
let not my repentance lack tears. Behold, I can say with 
Peter, I know not where else to go, if Thou wilt not receive 
me. Though I fall ten times a-day, still with Peter I can say, 
" I know that I love Thee." Fall I may, but never more shall 
I quit hold of Thy hand ; and as I shall not let it go, neither 
will it suffer me to lie prostrate on the ground, but will lift me 
up again : and when at last, by all my stumbling, Thou hast 
humbled me so far that I wholly despair of myself, and from 
Thy hand alone seek my strength and my comfort, then 






48. Abraham against Hope believed in Hope. 289 

doubtless, will the hour at last come in which all my steps 
will be steady, and my walk be continually upright before Thy 
face. In Thy mercy vouchsafe to me this boon. Amen. 

Judas, when thou hadst sold the Lord, and when 
Thy deep remorse the council laughed to scorn, 
Why didst thou not bethink thee to return 

And plead with Christ to save thee, even then ? 

Ah ! at His feet if thou thyself hadst thrown, 
Confessed the dreadful crime, and mercy craved ; 
Love on the bitter cross must have vouchsafed 

Such pardon as the tears of Peter won. 

'Twas not too late to weep thy guilt away, 

If sorrow from thy heart for ever gone 
Had not resigned its place to fell dismay. 

Better unborn than to be thus undone ! 
Thy kiss of love had poison in its breath, 
And even in thy repentance there was death. 



48. 

^forafjam against $kipe Mtefofc in $ope. 

Faith's part is TO RECEIVE, 

And God to faith has given 
All that is His to give 

Either in earth or heaven. 

Love distributes the gifts 

Which she from faith receives. 
Oh what a blest exchange is this 

In which the Christian lives / 

Rom. iv. 18-22. "Who [Abraham] against hope believed in 

hope, that he might become the father of many nations, 

according to that which was spoken, So shall thy seed be. 

And being not weak in faith, he considered not his own 

T 



290 4-8- Abraham against Hope believed in Hope. 

body now dead, when he was about an hundred years old, 
neither yet the deadness of Sarah's womb : he staggered 
not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was 
strong in faith, giving glory to God; and being fully 
persuaded that what He had promised, He was able also 
to perform. And therefore it was imputed to him for 
righteousness." 

ABRAHAM against hope believed in hope, that he might 
become the father of many nations, according to that 
which was spoken, So shall thy seed be. And being not weak in 
faith, he considered not his own body now dead, when he was 
about an hundred years old, neither yet the deadness of Sarah's 
womb. Such is faith. It is believing in hope against hope. 
Here below everything Abraham saw forbade him to hope, 
but looking up to the place whence the promise came, he then 
saw nothing but the strongest grounds for hoping. About him 
upon earth the flesh found ample occasion to argue, from all 
that met his eye, a negative to the divine promise, and clearly 
to demonstrate that the word of God must be untrue. But he 
entered into no disputation of the kind, or if this were at- 
tempted by the flesh, his faith instantly soared high above it 
and trustfully took hold of the hand which God stretched forth 
to him from heaven. Yes, such indeed is faith ; it cleaves to 
the things unseen as if it saw them. This is no doubt a hard 
lesson to learn ; and when we mark how many there are who 
err in learning it, we might almost be tempted to say with 
Luther, " The wonder is, not that many miss the way, but 
rather that any, however few, find it ; for to the foolish world 
what else can faith appear but the dream of a drunken man?" 
As it was not by disputation that faith entered his own mind, 
so neither is it possible for him who possesses it to impart or 
explain it by disputation to another. We see with our own 
eyes when the day has actually dawned, and need no argu- 
ments to convince us of the fact. To attempt to explain what 
is before it has enlightened us, is to attempt to see it 



48. Abraham against Hope believed in Hope. 291 

before it has shone. Only, however, let faith come forth 
among men, and it needs merely to show itself in its actings, 
and without disputation all who are of the truth fall on their 
knees before it, so undeniably does the fact that there lies a 
world unrevealed behind the one we see bear witness of itself 
to the human heart. How gradually the plants which the 
heavenly Father has taken under His protective care grow and 
progress through wind and rain ! There was once a time when 
the invisible country, which is the home of faith, seemed to 
my view far away across the wide ocean, and with thick mists 
resting upon its shores, but by little and little my soul has 
become domiciled in it. The apostle tells us that " our con- 
versation is in heaven," and again, that " our life is hid with 
Christ in God j" and dark and mysterious must these words 
be to one who is unacquainted with faith ; but to him who 
lives by it they are a simple and unmistakable testimony 
to the truth. There have been philosophers who doubted 
whether the material world which moves before our eyes has 
a real existence, and they were laughed at for doing so ; but 
with much greater reason might a believer laugh at those who 
doubt the existence of that invisible world in which we live, 
but which we do not see. Ought we not, however, rather to 
weep for them ? It is said of the blind, to whom the visible 
world is shut out, that they are half a world poorer than those 
who possess the sense of sight ; but of you who are spiritually 
blind it may truly be averred that you are poorer by a whole 
world than we. How irresistible is the power which the word 
of truth acquires, if it have once been firmly apprehended by 
faith ! All created things in the visible world, yea, even our 
own hearts, may set themselves against it — 

But though the creatures great and small, 
And though this vast terrestrial ball, 
And though my heart itself say No, 
I'll trust Thy word before them all. 

No doubt the struggle is always hard when the creatures 
and the visible world take the field against faith. Paul could 



292 4-8' Abraham against Hope believed in Hope. 

challenge to the conflict tribulation, and distress, and persecu- 
tion, and famine, and nakedness, and peril, and sword, as if 
they were all blunt weapons when wielded against faith ; and 
was enabled by faith to exclaim, " Who shall separate us from 
the love of God? ' n For as Luther says, " Faith is a lively 
daring confidence in the mercy of God, so sure that a man 
would die for it a thousand times. And such confidence in 
and knowledge of the divine mercy makes him cheerful and 
bold and happy in his relation to God and all the other 
creatures." But however severe may be the struggle with the 
creatures, far worse is that which ensues when a man's own 
heart and conscience begin to gainsay the divine word. Oh, 
how hot the fire of tribulation when the conscience awakes to 
a sense of sin, and when the sinner rushes from the approach 
of God as if he would fly through a hundred worlds ! When 
God's Word has told me that I have experienced His mercy 
through Christ, and have been by grace made an heir of eter- 
nal glory, and when my heart begins to complain that it sees 
and feels only the contrary of all this, then more than in any 
other temptation do I become rightly conscious how keen is 
the heat of the battle. And yet at last God's Word through 
faith remains master of the field, and to it the trembling heart 
and conscience must needs surrender; for it is not the sense 
of sight or taste that is here concerned — not what thou seest 
with thine eye or feelest in thy heart — but solely that which 
stands written in the heart of God, and is re-echoed in His 
Word, — viz., that without doubt thou art now by grace, and 
shalt eternally continue to be, His child. Yes, verily faith can 
do far greater things than " remove mountains" It can lull to 
peace the clamours of conscience. On all this my mind is now 
made up ; and they who marvel how so poor a child as I am 
yet so happy, while like others I pursue my way in great in- 
firmity and manifold afflictions, must just be suffered to marvel 
on at what is the effect of faith. 

" He staggered not at the pro?nise of God through unbelief ; 
1 Rom. viii. 35. 



48. Abraham against Hope believed in Hope. 293 

but was strong in faith, giving glory to God ; and being fully per- 
suaded that what He had promised, He was able also to perform." 
Here it is written that he became strong in faith ; and a 
blessed experience it is when, exerting its influence through 
the Holy Spirit, faith enables a man who by nature is shy, 
weak, and inconstant, to marshal his energies, as a general 
does his troops, beneath the banner inscribed with Christ, and 
only He, and engages them to serve in no other cause than His. 
His war-cry then becomes: " I have but one passion, and it is 
He." Of all who have received the pardon of sin, is there one 
who any longer complains of being weak ? No ; for they have 
a Captain to lead them on " who giveth power to the faint ; 
and to them who have no might increased strength." 1 And 
how can faith possibly fail to give strength ? In making me 
one with Christ, it makes that which is His to be also mine, 
and the whole world subservient to my will. It is related of 
a holy man, and he one on whom the light of the Gospel had 
never shone, that being asked the question — 

"Tell me how comes it, friend, that thee 
So happy all day long we see ? " 

He answered — 

" What else than happy can I be ? for know 
That just as I would have them all things go ; 
And whether earth or heaven my eye surveys, 
I nothing see but what my will obeys. 
For when God stooped in love to be my Friend, 
I in return my will to His resigned ; 
But He forthwith gave back the boon again, 
And said, ' Why should thy lot and mine be twain ?' 
So from that hour no questions ever rise 
'Twixt Him and me of what is mine or His." 

" All is yours," saith the apostle ; " and ye are Christ's ; 
and Christ is God's." 2 Yes; to him who through faith has 
become Christ's, and through Christ God's, there is nothing in 
heaven or earth but must minister for good. Believers are the 
true freemen ; and if power be always the accompaniment of 

1 Isa. xl. 29. 2 1 Cor. iii. 23. 



294 4^* Abraham against Hope believed in Hope. 

liberty, how can it fail to belong to those whom Christ has 
made free ? Thus it was that Abraham was made strong by 
his faith. He stood childless beside his wife when he counted 
the stars in the heaven, and the word of God said to him, " So 
shall thy seed be." 1 But so strong did he become by faith, 
that even then he beheld around him in thousands and mil- 
lions the seed of his spiritual offspring who through him were 
to receive the blessing. 

And in that he believed, the patriarch gave God the glory. 
What greater glory can man give to himself than what he gives 
by believing ? Is not faith the hand which he stretches out, 
and in which God places all celestial things ? It is the rain- 
bow which connects heaven with earth — the Jacob's ladder on 
which the angels ascend and descend. We repeat, how can a 
man give greater glory to himself than by believing ? or how 
can he lower himself more deeply than when he contemns 
faith, and thereby makes himself nothing but a poor worm of 
the dust ? Moreover, on the other hand, how great the honour 
which he gives to God by his faith ! If it be by the confi- 
dence we repose in them that we honour men, far more must 
we honour God when we accredit him with the ability, to do 
things so much greater than our blind reason ever imagined. 
No true love can coexist with distrust ; so that there can be 
no love at all without faith : and if distrust be the symptom 
of a heart unreconciled, so likewise is faith the bond and 
cement which reconciles God and man, and knits them to 
each other. For this reason no anthem sounds so beautiful in 
the ear of God, and no incense sheds so sweet a fragrance 
before His throne, as faith when it is the oblation made from 
a childlike heart. 

" And therefore it was imputed to him for righteousness." 
Can any one still wonder that God was pleased above measure 
with such a faith as Abraham's ? Is not faith a work more ex- 
cellent than every other? Were it not to be too bold, one 
might say, in the language of the old teachers of piety, that 

1 Gen. xv. 5. 



49- The Faith availeth which worketh by Love. 295 

by it a man is thoroughly deified. For as water when heated 
by fire is no longer mere water, but water and fire combined, 
so is it with the soul of man when by faith it accepts and 
appropriates all that belongs to the diving Being. For this 
reason St Paul says, " It is no more I that live, but Christ that 
liveth in me." In this way it is that the believer grows up into 
heaven. Though he still sojourns here on earth, his life is 
hidden with Christ in God ; for such is the language in which 
the apostle describes the mystery of the marriage of the soul 
with God through faith. 

My Lord and my God, how high the honour Thou hast 
conferred upon me in making me, by faith, a partaker of all 
Thy good things, and enabling me to live with Thee in heaven, 
even while sojourning here on earth ! Never more will I 
despise that precious boon ; but as Thou hast judged me 
worthy of it, I, on my part, will honour Thee, and present to 
Thee the oblation of that incense which Thou lovest best, and 
which is a strong faith out of a childlike heart. This will I 
do at all times : in the morning when I rise, and in the even- 
ing when I lay me down ; in the night of temptation, and 
likewise also, if it must be, in the bitter conflict of death. So 
help me by Thy grace to do. Amen. 



49. 
W$i JFattJf afcatletfj fcrfjtrij frrorfotij fog llo&e. 

Of faith you have a low esteem 

As of some poor and hapless wight. 
Not such true faith ; but if you deem 

Your own is such, no doubt you're right. 

Gal. v. 6. " In Jesus Christ neither circumcision availeth 
anything, nor uncircumcision ; but faith which worketh 
by love." 



296 49- The Faith availeth which worketh by Love. 

HOW could the question, Whether faith be a motive power, 
have ever been made a subject of controversy? For 
many a year every day and every hour has strengthened my 
conviction that what a man believes, and what he does not 
believe, is either the lever or the bar to all that he does. If I 
believe what by his pale cheek, as well as by word of mouth, 
the messenger announces — that sentence of death has been 
pronounced against me, and that to-morrow's dawn will shine 
upon my scaffold; if I believe the intelligent architect when 
he assures me that the beams which support the roof of my 
chamber must, in a few hours, give way ; if I believe the smooth 
tongue which whispers that my friend is a villain, and that my 
wife has been unfaithful, — is it possible that these things should 
not prove to me a spur and goad ? Were faith, indeed, a mere 
imagination, and did it signify nothing but the presentation to 
the mind's eye of so many possibilities and shadowy images 
of beauty, it might be otherwise. For if it be only his drunken 
fancy that paints to a man a blazing fire or a sultry sun, it may 
easily happen that his teeth will still chatter with cold. But 
faith is no such baseless picture drawn by the imagination. It 
is a piece of myself, and what we believe penetrates through 
secret and unexplored passages into the deepest recesses of 
our being. It cannot therefore be otherwise, than that a man's 
life is the reflex of his faith. If thou believest nothing to be 
real but the fleeting and transitory fabric compacted together 
of the four elements, then of these elements thy life is nothing 
but the shadow. If, however, thou believest in the breath of 
another world, which has here below wrapped itself in inert 
matter as in a robe, then will that breath become the soul of 
thy life. 

Yes, I can with truth proclaim aloud to the world that faith 
in the Gospel is a motive power, and that in him by whom it 
is possessed it generates an active love. Yes, O Love eternal, 
to Thy praise I can testify, that when the Gospel is regularly 
transfused by faith into a human heart, it acts like food, which, 
if rightly chewed, unites with the flesh and blood, and from 



49- The Faith availeth which worketh by Love. 297 

day to day recruits the body. It is a fire which quickens the 
pulse, originates new desires, and renovates the whole man. 
Whether others of the race possess hearts like mine, I cannot 
tell; but this I know, that when I used to probe my heart to 
the bottom, I found it so satisfied and enamoured of itself that 
it was not easy for me to love my neighbour for any other 
reason than because, and in as far as, he contributed to the 
increase or enrichment of my personal welfare ; and provided 
I was myself contented, I would have allowed all others to go 
their own way, whether it were good or bad. Even then I 
still imagined that I was loving my neighbours, whereas, in all 
of them, I was only loving myself. But thou, O holy Love, 
hast instructed me in the art of loving, in that Thou didst not 
look upon Thine own things, but although Thou wert rich, 
didst for our sakes become poor, that we through Thy poverty 
might be rich. 1 Such is the love which is taught by faith ; and 
ever since I learned it, O crucified Saviour, on no day dost 
Thou ever pass me by without, like a good husbandman, sow- 
ing a few more seeds of affection in my selfish heart. 

Any other love to be found elsewhere in life is, for the most 
part, and to speak correctly, of a sickly sort. Only that which 
we learn in the school of Christ can be characterised as healthy. 
And the reason is, first of all, that in loving it can actually 
forget itself. Of a truth it is no vulgar merit, but lofty praise, 
which the Lord ascribes to that kind of almsgiving in which 
the left hand does not know what the right hand doeth, and 
whose only witness is the eye which seeth in secret. There may 
not be many among us who are so fond of themselves as to 
hang out their good deeds, like gold-embroidered brocades, 
at every window, in order to earn, as their selling price, the 
applause of the multitude. But are there many who do not 
desire to have at least one spectator of the good they do, and 
that one himself? Where are to be found those noble souls 
who, in the sphere they occupy, act like the sun, which every 
morning ascends the heavens and scatters its gold on the right 

1 2 Cor. viii. o. 



298 49- The Faith availeth which worketh by Love. 

hand and on the left, on the heights and in the valleys, and 
are unconscious of what they do — those noble souls who, im- 
pelled by an inward exigence, here renovate and there adorn, 
and heal and bless wherever they appear, like light which can 
do nothing else than shine ? In none but one has the pattern 
of a love so lofty and so perfectly pure appeared, and it is 
only faith in Him which can inspire the love which is wholly 
forgetful of itself 

The soul by faith impelled with all her might 

Plies her allotted task from morn till night ; 

But when at length the fabric which she rears, 

Complete in its full loveliness appears, 

Of all spectators she is just the one 

Who least can tell us how the work was done. 

No doubt there is a natural love, which also does its work 
in blessed self-oblivion; such, for instance, is that of the 
mother for her babe. A mother's love is capable of forgetting 
itself in the being upon which it is lavished. It is not, how- 
ever, for that reason pure ; for just because it is the offspring 
of nature, it can go so far as to forget God as well as self in 
its object, and make of that an idol. In condemnation of this 
Luther says, that " in divine things a father ought to forget 
that his child is his own flesh and blood." The love, however, 
which is the offspring of faith is also wise. It loves, and seeks 
to love the creature in the way in which the creature is loved 
by God ; and accordingly, what it loves in man is not merely 
the part which blossoms to-day and is swept away by the storm 
of time to - morrow, — it loves what eternity is powerless to 
destroy — the inward jewel, the royal imprint which God has 
stamped upon the human soul in making it after His own like- 
ness. Moreover, love, which springs from faith, returns to 
faith again. It knows for itself no higher good, and knows 
likewise of no better boon to bestow on others than itself. No 
doubt there are tender souls who would willingly be helpful to 
their fellow-men, and who look around on every side for any 
good they can do to them : and other souls there are also 



49- The Faith availeth which worketh by Love. 299 

whose eyes glisten with tears of sympathy the moment they 
see the eyes of others bedewed with the tears of suffering, and 
who, just as we instinctively stretch forth a hand to arrest a 
falling body, extend theirs to help a brother whom they see 
bending beneath his burdens. Would only that such tender 
souls knew what is the heaviest of all the burdens which men 
have to bear — that burden from which relief would make every 
other light as an air-ball, and which consists in the misery of a 
heart destitute of faith ! The labour and the pains which they 
take to set again upon his feet the unfortunate who has broken 
down are thrown away ; just as if one were to spend a world 
of toil and trouble in reefing the sails and stopping the leaks 
of a vessel labouring in a storm, but without observing that it 
had lost the helm. Here also we may say : — 

Let the breeze blow fair, 

Swell all the sails, and in the air 

The streamers gaily float. ' Tis all in vain ! 

Unless the rudder it regain, 

The bark will founder. 

Yes, — to the human sovl faith is what the helm is to the ship ; 
and so long as the effort to implant it in the heart is unsuc- 
cessful, there can be no radical cure for suffering humanity. 
The apostle affirms that " godliness has the promise of the life 
that now is, and of that which is to come ; " 1 and if so, how 
can there be a flourishing state of temporal affairs where god- 
liness has not taught energy and moderation, chastity, con- 
tentment, and rectitude ? 

The very first acting of the faith which worketh by love 
must therefore of necessity be the desire to implant faith in 
afflicted souls. No doubt here care must needs be taken not 
to attempt by mere preaching to relieve ourselves from the 
much more difficult duty of practical and self-denying charity. 
There are pious cheats who are fonder of opening their mouths 
for religious talk than their hands for charitable gifts, and who 
would much rather minister to a patient on a sick-bed some 

1 1 Tim. iv. 8. 



300 49- Tke Faith availeth which worketh by Love. 

sentences of prayer than some nights of watching; and if, 
perchance, a neighbour have broken his leg, would rather sing 
to him a psalm than send for a surgeon and pay his fee. We 
no doubt often forget, also, that there is a way of preaching 
without words, of which St Peter speaks when he says, that 
" if any obey not the word, they also may without the word be 
won by the conversation of the wife." 1 The testimony which 
we bear to Christ in the circle of relatives and acquaintances 
ought properly never to be anything else than an explanation 
of the reasons of our conduct in cases where that is desired. 
Oh how greatly do they err who imagine that by constantly- 
repeated exhortations they can awaken faith in those who are 
destitute of it ! Without the right hammer, you will strike 
no sound from the bell, and loud crying will not answer the 
purpose. Unquestionably, however, the right hammer is the 
testimony of the Spirit of God in our own walk and conver- 
sation, consisting in incorruptible rectitude, unpretending 
modesty, cheerful and willing self-denial, and continual readi- 
ness to minister to others. That was the way in which our 
Lord Himself preached ; and, O pattern of all love, that is the 
example Thou hast left to show us how to preach Thy Gospel. 
Never did Thy hand minister the manna of heaven but when 
Thy love was at the same time wiping away the tears of earth. 
We do not often figure to ourselves, in the light in which the 
evangelists show it, how great was the self-denying love exercised 
by our Lord in His daily walk, and how continually He was 
encompassed by crowds who, side by side with their spiritual 
misery, exposed to view every sort and shape of bodily wretch- 
edness. Around Him congregated the blind, the lame, the 
epileptic, the possessed, the victims of paralysis and leprosy. 
Often they so overpowered Him, that for the livelong day He 
could find no time to take food ; 2 often they thronged around 
Him in such multitudes upon the land, that He was compelled 
to enter into a ship. 3 Wherever He came, the sick from all the 
surrounding districts were brought upon beds and laid on the 
1 i Pet. iii. i. 2 Mark, iii. 20. 3 Mark, iv. 1. 



49- The Faith availeth which worketh by Love. 301 

streets for Him to heal. 1 And as He loved far more intensely 
than any of us, how must the spiritual misery also of these 
multitudes have gone to His heart ? We read upon one occa- 
sion that " He came out and saw much people, and was moved 
with compassion towards them, because they were as sheep 
not having a shepherd ; " 2 and upon another, that He cried 
out, " O faithless generation, how long shall I bear with you? 
how long shall I suffer you ? " 3 Seldom, as I think, does it 
happen to one of us to shed tears on account of the sins of the 
world ; and yet Jesus the Son of God wept, and wept for His 
people's sins. 4 Nay, even over the common thorns of misery 
which beset the life of man on earth He shed tears, as He did 
at the grave of Lazarus ; for on that occasion, when He saw 
the rest weeping, He too was troubled and wept. 5 

It was thus that Jesus preached by works, and it is to such 
preaching by charitable deeds that we are everywhere exhorted 
in the holy Scriptures. True it is that Christian charity is most 
deeply affected by the spiritual misery of our fellow-men, be- 
cause that is the source from which all other kinds of misery 
flow, or at least by which they are aggravated. When not 
permitted, however, to stop the spring, it seeks at least to 
drain off and dry up the stream ; and great is the worth attri- 
buted to the manifestations of it towards the victims of bodily 
affliction. In one place the Scriptures exhort us " to do good 
and to communicate forget not ; for with such sacrifices God 
is well pleased." 6 In another : " So is the will of God, that 
with well-doing ye may put to silence the ignorance of foolish 
men." 7 And again : " Pure religion and undefiled before 
God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows 
in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the 
world." 8 Works of history inform us that in the early days 
of Christianity nothing surprised the heathen so much as the 
charity shown by the Christians to each other. A father of 
the Church relates that it was a common exclamation, " See 

1 Mark, vi. 56. 2 Mark, vi. 34. 3 Mark, ix. 19. 4 Luke, xix. 41. 
5 John, xi. 33. 6 Heb. xiii. 16. 7 1 Pet. ii. 15. 8 James, i. 27. 



302 49- The Faith availeth which worketh by Love. 

how they love 07ie another ! " On the occasion of a great public 
calamity which happened during the third century, a certain 
bishop, Dionysius, writes as follows : " After a breathing-time 
of short duration, which both they and we enjoyed, we were 
smitten with the plague, of all dreadful things the most dread- 
ful to the heathen, but which to us was a special trial and exer- 
cise of faith. A vast number of our brethren, out of affection 
for their friends and neighbours, did not spare themselves in 
their attentions to the sick, but, unmindful of the danger, 
visited them, perseveringly waited upon and ministered to 
them in Christ, and at last were happy to die along with them. 
Many lost their lives in the room of those who, by their care, 
had been restored to health. In this way the worthiest of the 
brethren, some of them presbyters and deacons, others ap- 
proved men among the laity, made their exit from the world 
by a death which, as it proceeded from ardent piety and strong 
faith, seems in no degree inferior to martyrdom. Some also, 
who after closing the mouth and eyes of their dying brethren, 
had carried them away upon their shoulders, washed their 
bodies, and wrapped them in their shrouds, themselves experi- 
enced ere long the same fate. Totally different was the con- 
duct of the heathen. They drove out the sick on the appear- 
ance of the first symptom of infection, abandoned their dearest 
friends, cast them, when half dead, upon the street, from appre- 
hension of the spread of the fatal distemper, and yet, by all 
their endeavours, could not escape its attacks." 

Jesus, my Lord and Master, the unspeakable mercy which 
God has vouchsafed to me through Thee I will accept with 
the hand of faith, and still accept afresh, that it may bring 
forth the fruit of charity. Grace has healed the wound of my 
sin, and will in time wipe away from my eyes all the tears of 
temporal affliction and misery. I will therefore walk in love, 
and wherever I can in the world, will heal sin's wounds and 
dry affliction's tears. Thy holy pattern will I receive into my 
heart, and it shall be my pleasure, as it was Thine, to visit the 
abodes of penury and suffering. Only make me wholly Thine 



49- The Faith availeth which worketh by Love. 303 

own, and then will charity flow out from me, as the stream 
does from the fountain. Vouchsafe to me the tranquil blessed- 
ness which flows from a sense of the mercy Thou hast won for 
me ; for this opens the heart, and imparts to it sympathy with 
all human woe. A heart which grace has softened can never 
remain unaffected at the sight of a brother's tears. Oh that 
I were but a branch of that vine of which Thou art the stock ! 
for then, weak although I be, I likewise would bring forth the 
same fruits as Thou didst bear. Oh that I could dismiss all 
other masters, and look continually to Thee with an eye ever 
less and less turned away ! Thou, and Thou alone, art my 
master. Oh grant me to avert my view still more and more 
from what other men do or leave undone, and take what was 
done or left undone by Thee for my sole and perpetual pattern ! 

Let me, while through life I wander, 
Daily the great question ponder, 

If within me reigns the Lord ? 
Do I seek from Him salvation? 
Shunning every aberration — 

Do I follow at His word ? 

Near to Jesus am I living ; 

From Him, as a branch, receiving 

Of His grace a rich supply? 
When my heart with care is sinking, 
From its burden weakly shrinking, 

Do I to His bosom fly ? 

Am I in no duty failing ? 
Does no indolence, prevailing, 

Draw my heart from God away ? 
If His precepts I have broken, 
Does a voice, within me spoken, 

Mourn that I so often stray ? 

Is the Saviour all things to me? 
Does earth's turmoil never woo me 

From the calm felicity 
Found in Him alone ; and ever 
Do I earnestly endeavour, 

His, and only His, to be ? 



304 5°- Charity is the best of the Graces. 

50. 

(£fyatttg is tfje fost of tfje traces, 

Z,<?z><? m <z river, and God's heart the source, 

Whence into holy souls it ever flows, 
Nor tarries long, but in an onward course 

Is sped from soul to soul without repose : 
Therefore is love, both RICH and POOR always, 
A SPENDTHRIFT and a BEGGAR all its days. 

i Cor. xiii. " Though I speak with the tongues of men and 
of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sound- 
ing brass, or a tinkling cymbal. And though I have the 
gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all 
knowledge ; and though I have all faith, so that I could 
remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing. 
And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and 
though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity, 
it pronteth me nothing. Charity suffereth long, and is 
kind ; charity envieth not ; charity vaunteth not itself, is 
not puffed up, doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh 
not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil ; 
rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth; bear- 
eth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, en- 
dureth all things. Charity never faileth : but whether there 
be prophecies, they shall fail ; whether there be tongues, 
they shall cease; whether there be knowledge, it shall 
vanish away. For we know in part, and we prophesy in 
part. But when that which is perfect is come, then that 
which is in part shall be done away. When I was a child, 
I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as 
a child ; but when I became a man, I put away childish 
things. For now we see through a glass, darkly; but 
then face to face : now I know in part ; but then shall 



50. Charity is the best of the Graces. 305 

I know even as also I am known. And now abideth 
faith, hope, charity, these three ; but the greatest of these 
is charity." 

WHO has a mi?id so lofty, or faculties so noble, as to be 
able to say what love is ? If I call it dew, I describe 
only its refreshing power ; if a star, only its amenity. If I call 
it a storm, all that I intimate is its impatience of control ; or 
if a sunbeam, the secrecy of its action. If I say that it is the 
breath of the soul, elaborated in its inmost workshop, when 
the spirit from on high combines with the heart's blood of the 
regenerate man, I do not even then hit the mark, for I have only 
said what it is in itself apart, not what it is to others. If I call 
it the solar light, giving life and colour to the things on which 
it shines, I still come short of the truth, for I only affirm what 
it is to others, not what it is in itself. If I say that it is the 
ray of seven colours in the pure water-drop when permeated 
by the sun, not even then do I define the true nature of love, 
because it is not so much a thing which can be seen as a secret 
perfume and taste in the innermost chamber of the human heart. 
Oh, who has a mind so lofty, and thoughts so deep, as to be 
able to say what love is ? 

Scripture speaks of it as a flame of the Lord; 1 and so it is 
— a flame tranquil and bright and pure, which first thoroughly 
cleanses, illumines, and warms the heart into which it enters, 
and then overflows into all other hearts, burning with all the 
greater strength and brightness the more; of such hearts it 
kindles and warms and illumines. It is indeed a mystery ; for 
what can be more mysterious than that a man cannot be truly 
happy who tries to be so only in himself and can be truly 
happy in himself only when he recovers himself in others — 
that he can be, and continue being, as much at home in 
another as if that other were not another, and only fully enjoys 
himself when he has another self to do it with ? Take love 
away, and oh, how every creature stands so solitary and iso- 

1 Song of Solomon, viii. 6 — Luther's vers. 
U 



306 50. Charity is the best of the Graces. 

lated in the world ! how dumb and silent they all are, and how 
dull the sound which comes down from heaven to earth, and 
echoes through the whole creation ! As it is only love which 
causes the inward flux and motion of the creatures towards 
each other, so is love also a lively and expressive tone in each 
one of them ; and were all the beings whom God has created 
to respond to each other in such a tone of love, who could 
describe the charming harmonies ? 

Truly, then, does the apostle, in the lofty hymn which he 
here indites to Charity, affirm that though a person were to 
possess all knowledge and all faith, yet if destitute of love he 
would become as brass, which emits only a hollow bray, or at 
the best as a tinkling cymbal, which no doubt gives forth a 
sound, but a sound in which there is no soul. For supposing 
it possible for a man to be destitute of charity, and yet, as the 
apostle says, to possess the gift of prophecy, and to understand 
all mysteries, and to have a faith capable of removing moun- 
tains, and to bestow all his goods to feed the poor, still such 
admirable virtue would but resemble a beautiful countenance 
bespread with the paleness of death, but from which the spirit 
had departed. 

Inasmuch, then, as it is love which conjoins man with God 
and God with man, through an inward and blissful motion of 
the heart, it cannot be but that the person who has thus be- 
come conjoint with the divine Being will henceforth make God 
his only object of desire. And inasmuch as God, being, as He 
is, love, and desiring also on His part to have an abode in 
other beings, has opened His heart to all His creatures, and 
allows the goodness and beauty which He Himself possesses 
to flow out upon them in such measure as their capacities 
enable them to receive, so likewise does the heart of him who 
has experienced the love of God stand ever open with thoughts 
of loving-kindness towards his fellow-creatures, and allow all that 
has flowed in from God upon himself to flow out upon them. 
As the solar ray in a clear and silvery drop of water is refracted 
into seven colours, so is it with love in a pure heart. It, too, 



50. Charity is the best of the Graces. 307 

is split into many more than seven kinds of virtue. Rather 
might it be affirmed that all virtues proceed from it alone, 
according to the saying of Luther, that " the commandment 
to love is a short and a long one, a singular and a plural one, 
no commandment at all, and yet the sum of all command- 
ments." It annuls and yet establishes the whole of them, and 
hence the apostle says that " love is the fulfilling of the law." a 

And so here the apostle, in quite an inimitable style, paints 
to us a grand and richly-coloured picture, showing how Chris 
tian charity develops itself in a pure and pious heart. " It 
suffers long and is kind" he says, inasmuch as it causes some 
measure of the long-suffering and loving-kindness which itself 
has experienced from God to flow out upon all sinners ; and hence 
goes forth even among those who are strangers to Him, not 
with the stern zeal of the preacher in the wilderness, announc- 
ing that the axe has been already laid to the root of the trees, 
but with the gentle earnestness of the Saviour seeking that 
which is lost. 

Charity envieth not, just as the God of mercy has not envied 
us, but day by day offers Himself to us, with all the wealth 
and blessedness which He enjoys. Even in cases where she 
might perhaps imagine that His gifts are too lavishly squan- 
dered upon those who do not so much as thank Him for them, 
she does not envy, but is content to think that a day will come 
when their eyes will be opened. 

Charity vuunteth not itself, is not puffed up. The God of 
mercy might well have dealt proudly with miserable creatures 
like us, but He rather chose to sojourn amongst us in the 
humble guise of a servant, and in this deep abasement conde- 
scended to the meanest and most wretched ; and hence, how- 
ever high the gifts she has received, Christian charity is at all 
times glad to stoop to persons of however low degree. 

Nor doth it behave itself unseemly, which means that it never 
forgets what is due to others. Rather would it impart to them 
any good thing of its own than fail to recognise the gifts that 
1 Rom. xiii. 10. 



308 50. Charity is the best of the Graces. 

they themselves have received. Hence it is also genuine 
courtesy, and teaches that propriety which is ever mindful of 
the respect justly claimed by the rank, the talents, and the 
virtues of a neighbour. 

She seeketh not her own, just as her God and Master sought 
not His own when He came into this poor world ; and she 
bears inscribed as a motto upon all she does : " It is more 
blessed to give than to receive." 1 

Charity is not easily provoked, and thinketh no evil. Even 
though all her sweets be recompensed with bitters, never is 
she herself embittered, and if she bears any grudge at all, it is 
not at the sinner but at the sin. His sin, were it possible, she 
would mortify, but not himself. Rather would it give her 
heartfelt pleasure to see her worst enemies receive crowns and 
sceptres, honours and estates, and anything else, if by such 
tokens of the divine long-suffering, their hearts could be in- 
clined towards that which is good. 

Charity rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth. Her- 
self richly filled with the light shed down from above, and in 
which all equity and truth among men have their source, fain 
would she diffuse in every quarter the measure of it which she 
herself has received, and experiences a childlike joy wherever 
she finds a trace of it, just as the Lord Jesus rejoiced at the 
faith of the Canaanitish woman and of the centurion of Caper- 
naum. So thoroughly, too, is her eye illumined with the light, 
that she not only knows right well how to separate the dark- 
ness from it, but even discovers in the darkness here and there 
a ray which a dimmer eye would never have perceived. 

Charity beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, 
endureth ajl things. This means, that as it is her desire to be- 
stow upon a neighbour only what is truly good, so likewise has 
she the power and ability to do these things wherever it appears 
needful and wholesome. In short, charity makes the lover and 
the loved to be one person, and how then can it fail to be the 
fulfilment of that law which enjoins, "All things whatsoever ye 
1 Acts, xx. 35. 



50. Charity is the best of the Graces. 309 

would that men should do unto you, do ye even so to them"? 1 
Just as there is no husband, at least in the marriages upon 
which God has pronounced His blessing, who does not con- 
sider as done to himself whatever he does to his wife, she being 
flesh of his flesh and bone of his bone ; so likewise does the 
man who has been fully imbued with the love of God behold 
in all that is human his own flesh and bone, and labours and 
provides for it as if he did all for himself. 

The apostle tells us respecting faith, hope, and charity, that 
of the three, charity is the greatest ; and assigns as the reason, 
that it will still abide on the other side of the bourne at which 
faith and hope depart. The secrets of the kingdom of heaven 
are now beheld by us only as if in the dim reflection of a dark 
mirror. We know them only in part, and it is solely by faith 
that we become assured of them. But the holy apostle pro- 
mises that a day is coming when we shall know God face to 
face, as we are known of Him, and shall know at the same 
time the origin and nature of all things, and so there must then 
be an end of faith. On the other hand, the holy Scriptures 
apply the name of hope to faith when it points to the things of 
the future, and especially to what we ourselves shall then be ; 
and consequently, when all becomes present, and time itself 
dissolves into eternity, hope too shall expire. Charity, how- 
ever, being the door through which God here influences the 
human heart, and by which man enters into union with the 
Author of his being and with all created things, never per- 
isheth. For though in this poor sphere of time that door was 
but as a little wicket, and did not even stand always open, but 
was too often closed by gusts of wind, in eternity the little 
wicket shall become a mighty portal, whose folds shall stand 
ajar night and day, never more to be closed by any gust of 
wind, and through which the soul shall have free entrance into 
the heart of her God and of the whole creation. Oh, if, even 
in this life, love, although it is but a little brook beneath the 
sultry rays of the sun, often threatening almost to run dry, 
1 Matt. vii. 12. 



310 5°- Charity is the best of the Graces. 

makes us so rich, how rich will it make us when the brook 
shall have become a river — nay, even an ocean — and when in 
full flood it shall flow down from the heart of God, and no 
more find in the heart of a single creature a sin to obstruct it, 
and when a free and blessed interchange of gifts shall be 
established between heaven and earth, and all that are in 
them ? Oh, who possesses such powers of thought as to be able 
to tell us what love is ? 



The frame of nature in fresh beauty stood — 
Hill, valley, man and beast, and stream and wood ; 
Here the great ocean rolled its billows hoary ; 
There reared the azure sky its vault of glory ; 
Sun, moon, and stars their radiant course pursued 
Alone, for none the other understood. 

A single tone was to each creature given 

To laud the great Creator, Lord of heaven. 

Lit was one little flame, to be a sign 

That all His works should prove for prayer a shrine ; 

But to each other strange were flame and tone — 

They shone, they sang, each for itself alone. 

Oh yes, the earth adorned by God was fair, 
But one thing lacked — alas ! no joy was there. 
Feeble and dim the little flames ascend ; 
Sad are the tones, and soon in silence end. 
The children's hearts all for the Father yearn, 
Yet none a brother in the throng discern. 

The myriad tones arise to heaven on high, 
Yet here on earth is heard no harmony ; 
With incense fires a thousand altars blaze, 
And yet no Church's hymns the Maker praise : — 
Yes, earth by God adorned indeed was fair, 
But one thing lacked — alas ! — no joy was there. 

At last came love, and joy, her sister, with her, 

And in sweet concord blend the tones together. 

To form communities the creatures join; 

In one vast Church the altars all combine. 

Broke was the spell that once the children bound, 

When in the Father's heart their common home they found. 



5 1. Your Body is the Temple of the Holy Ghost. 3 1 1 

51. 

gout 3Sot»2 is tije temple 0! tije $olg ©jost. 

/V* sold myself to Him, 

Soul, body, every limb ; 

Nor ask I from that hour 

Either zuhat's sweet or sour. 

I only ask, WHAT WILT THOU, LORD ? 

And instantly, with one accord, 

My members all fulfil His word. 

i John, ii. 16. " For all that is in the world, the lust of the 
flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is 
not of the Father, but is of the world." 

Matt. v. 28. "I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on 
a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with 
her already in his heart." 

Eph. v. 3-5. "But fornication, and all uncleanness, or covet- 
ousness, let it not be once named among you, as becometh 
saints ; neither filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor jesting, 
which are not convenient : but rather giving of thanks. 
For this ye know, that no whoremonger, nor unclean per- 
son, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, hath any in- 
heritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God." 

1 Cor. vi. 18-20. " Flee fornication. Every sin that a man 
doeth is without the body ; but he that committeth forni- 
cation sinneth against his own body. What ! know ye not 
that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is 
in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own ? 
For ye are bought with a price : therefore glorify God in 
your body, and in your spirit, which are God's." 

WHAT a serious sermon against all defilement of the 
flesh resounds from sacred Scripture ! How it digni- 
fies man by teaching him to look upon his body as a temple of 



312 5 l • Your Body is the Temple of the Holy Ghost. 

God, a habitation of the Holy Spirit; and even because so 
great a monarch is enthroned in it, to keep holy the outward 
fabric ! To Christianity is due the first effectual introduction 
into human life of the noble virtues of chastity in deed and 
word, temperance and modesty. 

The Gospel has not extirpated the instinct of nature, but 
has consecrated it, as it does all that is natural. The Almighty 
Maker of heaven and earth Himself brought his wife to Adam, 
and declared that " they twain were to be one flesh ; " 1 and 
thus, as Luther says, " the conjugal instinct has been enclosed 
in a divine word, as in a holy monstranz ; " and that divine 
word, which the Jews had wellnigh forgotten, was by Jesus 
Christ brought again to light and inserted in His Gospel. 2 
The Gospel has converted marriage and the propagation of 
the race into a priestly function. It is in the Lord that mar- 
riages are contracted, in the Lord that husband and wife love 
each other, for the Lord and His kingdom that they study to 
edify and improve one another, and to the Lord that they train 
up their children to be His subjects. In this way the motions 
of the flesh are made tributary to the kingdom of God, as is 
the appetite for food by its ministering to the preservation and 
growth of the body, which is the temple of the Holy Ghost ; so 
that here also applies the saying of the apostle, " Every creature 
of God is good (in itself), and nothing to be refused if it be 
received with thanksgiving." z The Lord's Prayer, when prayed 
with a grateful heart over food, converts it from being poor 
food for the body into a spiritual blessing, a mean of promot- 
ing the Lord's kingdom, and a pledge of the munificent heart 
which is displayed in His manifold gifts to man. The same 
may be said of the natural instincts, in so far as they are con- 
secrated in holy wedlock, and employed, not for carnal pleasure 
and in mere bondage to the flesh, but are refined and elevated 
by a spiritual affection for the mate assigned to us by God, and 
in order, if such be His will, to usher into the world future 
subjects for His kingdom. 

1 Gen. ii. 22. 2 Matt. xix. 3 et seq. 3 1 Tim. iv. 4. 






5 1 . Your Body is the Temple of the Holy Ghost. 313 

Not until, in the light of divine truth, a clear conception of 
the nature of holy wedlock, and its efficacy in sanctifying the 
natural instincts, has dawned upon the mind, does a man 
learn what being unchaste really is. Then, however, with holy 
shame he recognises how every motion of the flesh, unless 
spiritually cleansed and sanctified in matrimony, lowers him 
to a level with the brute, just like the brutish appetites which 
cleave to meat and drink for the mere pleasure they afford. 
Then does he blush to feel how the female is degraded when 
made the mere partner of a low passion — then does his con- 
science begin to quake at the crime of ushering, from any such 
ignoble motive, a human life into the world — a life destined to 
endure for ever in felicity or woe, and that under circumstances 
wholly devoid of the means and appliances for training it for 
heaven. Oh ye who are the offspring of unguarded hours, the 
fruit of criminal passion, doomed to grow up without knowing 
what it is to have father or mother, or sister or brother, or any 
one to care for your bodies or to watch for your souls, without 
parental blessing or social respect — how if ye shall one day, 
before the throne of God, call down vengeance upon the 
authors of your birth, and all your sins be made to fall upon 
their heads ! Human life is a holy thing, and we deem it a 
crime to put an end to it in thoughtless delirium. Is it less a 
crime in thoughtless delirium to give it a beginning ? 

When a Christian has learned to treat with chaste and 
priestly reserve all that has a reference to sex, how he must 
abominate the levity with which the world is wont to make 
such subjects the theme of light and often filthy jests. The 
Christian, on the contrary, feels himself bound to say, This also 
is holy ground; and oh, how loud the call to seriousness in 
all that concerns chastity which resounds from the Word of 
God! 

" Whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath com- 
mitted adultery with her already in his heart." O terrible word ! 
How like a flash of devouring lightning it darts in upon the 
frivolity of the world and the age ! It is the word of a God 



314 5 *• Your Body is the Temple of the Holy Ghost. 

who, from those He enlists in His service, requires purity in 
the heart as well as in the bodily members. Every sin begins 
much earlier than the outward act in which it breaks forth, just 
as the conflagration commences long before the flame bursts 
inextinguishably through window and roof. Oh, with how 
adulterous a generation we are encompassed on every side, if 
the men of our time are to be judged by this word of the Lord ! 
Do they remember at all the seventh commandment to keep it 
holy, or ever think that it is possible to break it even with the 
lips and the heart 1 We are told to resist the beginnings of all 
passion ; and in the case of a passion so inflammable as that 
of which we speak, it is of special necessity to smother the 
impure fire so long as it merely glimmers in the heart, and does 
not burst out at the windows. Know you not the adage, 
Beginning and end join hand in hand. How lightly the 
children of the world treat what the apostle calls " nlthiness, 
and foolish talking, and jesting" ! They say, forsooth, It was 
a mere passing word ! But who does not know how every such 
word we utter has a retroactive effect upon the tinder of lust 
in the interior of the heart ? As a draught of wind strengthens 
the flame on which it is let in, the same effect upon an impure 
desire has the utterance of it in speech. Oh, my friends, be 
assured there is no holier guardian of chastity than shame. 
There are persons who say, " If it be the heart at which God 
looks, does the emission of lust out of it make a man worse, or 
is he the better for keeping it in? The Lord Jesus Christ 
here tells us, that long before the act, adultery is already com- 
mitted by a look. If, then, you say that a man does not become 
worse by the escape of his lust, how can he be better by its 
retention ? why not give the enemy leave to make off, seeing he 
creates so great a disturbance within, and the matter is not 
mended ? " This inference has a fair show of truth ; but it 
masks a knave who pretends concern for the divine command- 
ment and law, while he is really seeking a decent cloak for his 
licentiousness. It is a case to which the apothegm applies, 
" My gifts to the mother are meant for the daughter." Observe, 



5 1. Your Body is the Temple of the Holy Ghost. 3 1 5 

a distinction must be drawn between two sorts of passion. The 
one is a fire which has already spread over the whole house, 
and burned the rafters to ashes, so that nothing is wanting but 
a gust of air to set it in a blaze at every corner. The other is 
still a harmless spark, which keeps to the floor, and will never 
rise to a flame if you do not open the window. In the one 
case the heart is already filled with filth, and only needs a 
sluice through which it may be discharged ; in the other it only 
becomes full if the sluice be opened. In the one the devil has 
already woven his beautiful web in the dark with both woof 
and warp, and lacks but opportunity to show it off to the 
people ; in the other he has merely wrought in a few threads 
of the warp, being hindered by want of light from freely and 
openly carrying on his work, unless you let light in. Do no 
such thing, but instantly close every sluice and opening about 
you, such as eyes and mouth and ears. Mark, also, how here 
Christ has not said, " Whosoever looketh on a woman to lust 
after her hath already committed adultery," but has purposely 
subjoined the three little words, " in his heart ;" thereby signi- 
fying that the act he speaks of is indeed an adultery, but not 
so heinous as when it is manifested to all the world. 

Oh how high the estimation in which sacred Scripture has 
set the frail earthly tabernacle of the human body ! This the 
apostle tells us when he says, that since his spirit has been knit 
in wedlock to the Spirit of Christ, none of his members is any 
longer his own, but is the property of the Lord; and if so, none 
of them ought to be used under the capricious impulse of the 
wind of passion. There is another wind which blows in a 
Christian ; for it is written that " the sons of God are led by 
the Spirit of God," 1 and so are always led in a way which 
accords with His commandments, and of which he approves. 
A Christian man is therefore spriest, who, with all the mem- 
bers of his body and by every action of his life, perpetually 
presents an offering of frankincense to God, according to the 
words of the apostle : " Ye are bought with a price ; therefore 

1 Rom. viii. 14. 



316 51. Your Body is the Temple of the Holy Ghost 

glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God's." 
Again, we Christians are soldiers, and all our members weapons 
which belong to Christ, and with which we are to fight against 
sin in the holy cause of our beloved Lord, as the apostle says, 
" Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unright- 
eousness unto sin ; but yield yourselves unto God, as those 
that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments 
of righteousness unto God." 1 And again : " The night is far 
spent ; the day is at hand : let us therefore cast off the works 
of darkness, and let us put on the armour of light." 2 If, then, 
I am my Lord Christ's soldier, ought I to desert His standard 
and carry my weapons into the service of His adversary ? What 
honest soldier ever acted such a part ? Moreover, that lewdness, 
more than any other sin committed by the members, defiles 
and dishonours the body is manifest ; for though gross false- 
hood may have slipped over thy tongue, and though thy hand 
may even have perpetrated a murder, still these are transient 
acts, and the filth of them does not cleave so closely to the 
body, and so deeply mark, poison, and disfigure it as fleshly 
indulgences, and, worst of all, lewdness. That is the reason 
why the apostle here says, " Every sin that a man doeth is 
without the body ; but he that committeth fornication sinneth 
against his own body." 

Neither I nor my members are any longer my own. They 
are Christ's, and by every unchaste act I sin against Him as 
well as against myself. Pious Joseph ! thou too didst know 
that he who sins against his body sins also against some one else, 
and in the hour of temptation didst exclaim, " How can I do 
this great wickedness and sin against God? " and thine example 
I will keep before my eyes. But from Thee, also, my God, I 
will implore strength to be chaste and temperate, and of a pure 
heart, as Solomon of old prayed : " When I perceived that I 
could not otherwise obtain wisdom, except God gave her me, 
I prayed unto the Lord, and besought Him/' And Thou, too, 
O Lord Christ, whose priest and soldier I am, set Thyself 

1 Rom. vi. 13. 2 Rom. xiii. 12. 



52. The Love of Money is the Root of all Evil. 3 1 7 

before my eyes in Thy robe of light, that I may hate whatever 
in me is dark. Stand ever before me in the guise of Thy 
sufferings — those sufferings that were endured for love of me. 
Let Thy nails be thorns in my side at every motion of lust ; let 
Thy thorny crown pierce deep into my heart when impure 
desires would there awake. O crucified Love, let all be cruci- 
fied within and about me which does not resemble Thee ! 

Holy and chaste, O Lord, Thou wert, 
So pure Thy love that it preferred, 

Of Adam's fallen race. 
To be Thy bride no single soul, 
But yearned to comprehend the whole 
Within its vast embrace. 

O do my breast inspire 

With a like holy fire, 

And let its spotless light 

Beam through my being quite, 

And teach me how to love aright. 

Lord, Thou didst brook a death of pain, 
And in the garden groan, to gain 
Thy bride, beloved so well. 
Let Thy fond toils and holy zeal, 
And woes endured my soul to heal, 
Deep in my memory dwell ; 

So shall I see, with shame, 

And feel how vile I am ; 

So, too, Thy passion's smart 

Shall keenly wound my heart, 

And all its sinful lusts depart. 



52. 

ffljje ILofae of Mams, is tfje &oot of all «H>tI. 

My care is, like the little birds, to praise and thank the Lord ; 
His to provide my meat and drink, according to His word. 

i John, ii. 16. "All that is in the world, the lust of the 
flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not 
of the Father, but is of the world." 



3 1 8 52. The Love of Money is the Root of all Evil. 

Psalm cxxvii. 1, 2. " Except the Lord build the house, 
they labour in vain that build it : except the Lord keep 
the city, the watchman waketh but in vain. It is in vain 
for you to rise up early, to sit up late, to eat the bread of 
sorrows, for he giveth to His beloved while asleep." 1 
Matt. vi. 34. " Take therefore no thought for the morrow : 
for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. 
Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof." 
Matt. vi. n. " Give us this day our daily bread." 
Matt. vi. 24. " Ye cannot serve God and mammon." 
1 Tim. vi. 10. " The love of money is the root of all evil ; 
which while some coveted after, they have erred from the 
faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows." 
Prov. xxx. 8. " Give me neither poverty nor riches ; feed 
me with food convenient for me." 

" (~* IVE us this day our daily bread " is a favourite petition 
VJT of mine, in the prayer of our Lord. I know full well 
that some endeavour to affix to it a spiritual meaning, but of 
that I cannot approve. The Lord has given us so many 
beautiful petitions for spiritual good things, ought there not 
to be at least one in which we may beg from Him what is 
good for the body? It is so pleasant a sight, when around 
the head of a family upon earth, the children, and servants, 
and all the members of the household congregate with expec- 
tant and supplicating eyes, and when his hand deals out to 
each the portion convenient for him. And pleasant also is it 
for the soul to figure to itself the Master of the world seated 
upon the golden rainbow, which reaches from heaven to earth, 
and the whole human family, with the beasts of the field and 
the fowls of the air, approaching Him every returning morn- 
ing, and departing with their wants satisfied by His hands. It 
is thus that I picture to myself our Father in heaven when 
I pray, " Give us this day our daily bread," and think of all 
the thousand millions who come along with me into His 
1 Luther's version. 



1 



52. The L ove of Money is the Root of all Evil. 3 1 9 

presence, and, whether silently or with articulate speech, join 
in my supplication. It seems to me as if the bread were 
tasteless until it has been consecrated and blessed by prayer 
and thanksgiving. Were I forbidden to pray for it, I should 
then be obliged to take anxious thought about it. Now, how- 
ever, this brief petition, which has been taught us by the Lord, 
serves as a little vessel, on which I embark all my anxiety, 
and cast it upon Him who commands us to do so, saying in 
His Word, " Cast all your care upon Him, for He careth for 
you." 1 " When care has driven me to prayer," says worthy 
Philip Melanchthon, " I in my turn drive care by prayer away." 
If, in this manner, we have committed our whole cause unto 
the Lord, we then enter upon our employments with double 
alacrity, and all our works prosper as if the hands of angels 
helped us to perform them. No doubt the cheerful song, 
" Begone, dull care," is sung by birds of very different feather. 
It is sung by the sprightly finch, who looks mirthfully out, like 
thoughtless Jack, upon the world ; but it is also sung by the 
lark, when in the blush of morning it soars aloft into the 
clouds. Judging from the sound, we might suppose that it 
was all one melody; but listen with attention and you will 
soon perceive that, although there seems little difference in 
the notes, the words at least are not the same. For while the 
one sings — 

On nothing have I built my cause ; 

the other is singing — 

I upon God my cause have built. 

And if you listen a little longer, you will, I think, come to find 
that there is a difference also in the tune. 

How grateful I feel to our blessed Lord, that both by the 
beautiful prayer, " Give us this day our daily bread," and like- 
wise by the no less beautiful precept, " Take no thought for the 
morrow," He has made us so perfectly free, and has disencum- 
bered us not only of care, but at the same time of avarice, that 
1 1 Peter, v. 7. 



320 5 2 - The Love of Money is the Root of all Evil. 

hateful vice, which crawls like a reptile upon the ground ! Of 
all sins, avarice seems to me the least human. From other 
sins a man reaps a certain modicum of good, while they still 
leave unbroken some of the ties that bind him to his fellow- 
men j but the miser tears himself loose from his kind, as well 
as from living nature, to caress a piece of lifeless metal. It is 
a most irrational sin, but may be best understood when it is 
the offspring of an unbelieving heart, which puts no trust in 
Him who feeds the sprightly birds of the air, and clothes the 
lilies of the field. It does seem to me a toilsome piece of 
work which the miser undertakes, for it is nothing less than 
to provide beforehand against all that the future may bring — 
against danger, and dearth, and disease, and nakedness. No 
wonder that there is no end to his cares, and yet that he him- 
self never thinks that he is careful enough. The blind fool ! 
God has made the task so easy to him, and yet he makes it so 
difficult to himself. In the fear of a future burden he heaps 
millstones upon his shoulder, and in apprehension of possible 
strokes of the rod, is every moment actually lashing the skin 
from his back. Unhappy man ! surely there are already 
millstones and stripes enough in the world ; why shouldst 
thou of thine own accord add to their number? 

Even the avarice which is the offspring of unbelief is irra- 
tional; for how can so weak a creature as man erect a fence, 
or stop the chinks so as to protect himself, from what quarter 
soever the bitter wind may blow ? In another respect, how- 
ever, the miser acts contrary to reason. At every step by 
which he advances towards the boundary where all earthly 
care is to be laid aside, his carefulness, instead of lessening, 
becomes greater, which shows off his folly in the clearest 
light. Moreover, just as misfortunes never come single, so 
neither does this sin. A certain haughtiness and pride always 
go hand in hand with the unbelief of avarice ; and the reason 
is this : money is the common measure by which the world 
estimates worth, and the miser, knowing this, feels his own 
weight, takes credit to himself for it, and says to his soul, 






5 2. The Love of Money is the Root of all Evil. 321 

" Soul, thou now possessest what many thousands long for, 
but cannot find ; take then thine ease." As is the case, how- 
ever, with all sin, so likewise is it with the pride of purse ; the 
evil passion falls out with itself. The person we describe 
would fain publish on every street the magnitude of his accu- 
mulated treasures, in order to receive his reward from the 
world, and be treated with due respect. Fain would he stalk 
along in pomp and splendour, that, as Luther says, he may be 
taken for one of the great ones. But here he is encountered 
by the fear that, by proclaiming the greatness of his riches, he 
may incur the danger of their loss ; and hence he is compelled 
to content himself, well or ill, with burning his incense beside 
his money-bags, in the silence and privacy of his own chamber, 
and before himself. Now, if a man have carried his foolish 
greed of the earthly mammon to the furthest extreme, then, 
just as we see in the case of other sins, that the sinner loses 
all thought, and runs quite like a dog or other lower animal, 
in spite of blows, wherever hunger drives him, and rushes 
upon the object of his desire, so likewise does it happen to the 
miser. Without consciousness or thought, and as if impelled 
by a natural instinct, he is enticed by the yellow lustre of the 
metal, and can never satiate himself with beholding it. There 
have been instances of misers, when overtaken by the hour of 
death, and forced to bid adieu to all things, causing their 
money-bags, as the dearest of objects, to be brought into their 
presence, in order to feast their eyes with another and a final 
look at them. 

Oh how the divine image is dishonoured when thus sur- 
rendered in bondage to the lifeless dust of the earth ! Oh the 
disgrace of such idolatry ! x There stands the yellow Moloch, 
and into its fiery belly are cast wife and child, honour, affec- 
tion, and enjoyment — all, all must be sacrificed at the com- 
mand of the idol. This, no doubt, is the reason why the 
apostle calls avarice " the root of all evil." It is very true 
that the habit of sacrificing all to his idol is not peculiar to the 
1 Col. iii. 5. 
X 



322 5 2 - TJw Love of Money is the Root of all Evil 

miser, for whatever a man loves supremely becomes an idol 
to him ; and whether it be Baal or Moloch, to it he offers up 
everything else. Thus will the voluptuary, in the madness 
of his passion, cast wife, child, honour, and wealth into the 
arms of the fiery Moloch, and still more will the proud man 
do for the Baal of his pride. In one respect, however, avarice 
differs from other kinds of sin. The slave of pride, and still 
more the slave of lust, retain in a higher degree sensibility for 
what among men is considered delicate, tender, and lovely; 
and unless their sin have been indulged to the greatest excess, 
they can still take delight in the beauties and sublimities of 
nature. Of the miser, however, the contrary of all this is true ; 
for from him neither the gentle love of woman, nor the inno- 
cent laughter of children, nor the magnificent works of nature, 
can any longer elicit a sense of joy. The sallow glitter of 
gold, that reflection of hell, obliterates even the most beautiful 
picture which the material world paints to charm the eye. 
Here again it may be discovered, that what a man believes 
determines how he lives, and that he himself becomes such as 
is his god. 

Man grows like what he worships, and the curse 
Of base idolatry lies in itself. 

Having surrendered himself a slave to the dust of the earth, 
the miser, like that dust, becomes dry and sapless, pale, cold, 
and dead as the metal at his feet, to which he has sold his 
heart. 

Who can the magic power of gold divine, 

With which it tempts the sons of men astray ? 

By hell ignited seems its pallid shine, 

A night-laid lure, and human souls the prey. 

Lifeless and wan, it yet can love inspire, 

And woo to bridal joys with flatteries base ; 

Till, quenched by icy coldness all his fire, 

The lover turns to stone in its embrace. 

Arrested in my veins the blood I feel, 
When thee, O sordid idol, I behold ; 
Thy secret spells through all my being steal, 
And like a net unseen my heart enfold. 



52. The Love of Money is the Root of all Evil 323 

But, Lord, on Thy warm breast in terror sinking, 
I fly the fiend that seeks me for a prey, 
And love eternal at the fountain drinking, 
I spurn for ever earth's vile dross away. 

Gracious God, Thou hast freed me from all servile care, as 
well as from all ungodly carelessness touching the good things 
of this earth. My prayer to Thee, therefore, is, Protect me 
from riches ; protect me also from poverty. " Give me the 
portion convenient for me," and help me to employ it faith- 
fully as Thy steward. There is truth in the saying of the 
apostle, that " they that will be rich fall into temptation and 
a snare." * Whatever worldly wealth we do possess, we ought, 
according to the same apostle's admonition, to " possess as 
though we possessed it not." The case, however, rather is, 
that the more a man has, the more does his heart from custom 
become attached to it, so that he will not let it go. As the 
hen is unwilling to lay her egg except in the nest where one 
has been already laid, so none think of accumulating riches but 
he who already possesses some little store. Hence, as Luther 
says, nowhere is dearth so great as in places where there are 
wealthy people ; and the temptation to avarice is far stronger 
among the rich than among the poor. Just, however, as that 
reformer has compared the world to a drunken clown, who, if 
he does not fall from his ass on the right side, is sure to fall 
off on the left ; so does it happen to the rich man, that if he 
escapes the snare of avarice, he is betrayed into that of luxury. 
No doubt it is possible for those who possess the good things 
of this world " to use, as not abusing them ; " 2 but the proverb 
tells us that " opportunity makes thieves ; " and if we have the 
power over many things, the use we make of many of them 
is so immoderate as at last to become abuse. On the other 
hand, poverty is likewise a temptation from the Lord, inas- 
much as it impoverishes a man of his courage ; and it is ex- 
ceedingly difficult to keep the heart aloft with God while the 
members are toiling bitterly here below. For this reason, 
1 1 Tim. vi. 9. 2 1 Cor. vii. 31. 



324 5 2 - The Love of Money is the Root of all Evil. 

doubtless, the easiest task which the Lord imposes upon His 
disciples is that of those to whom He allots a convenient por- 
tion, neither too little nor too much. Alas ! when I seriously 
reflect, I find that it is a great deal over which I have been 
appointed steward. There is deep truth in the saying of the 
poet, that " the poorest beggar, even when his penury is 
greatest, has still superfluity." How few there are who can- 
not, when put to it, increase their savings, and curtail their 
outlay ! and even if that be impossible, how many powers 
and talents they possess which may still be laid out at in- 
terest, not only for heaven, but also for this earth, to the 
increase of their temporal welfare ! The faithful manage- 
ment of these earthly good things is the first step that we 
must take, as the Lord expressly says, " He that is faithful 
in that which is least is faithful also in much; and he that 
is unjust in the least is unjust also in much. If, therefore, 
ye have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who 
will commit to your trust the true riches? and if ye have 
not been faithful in that which is another man's, who shall 
give you that which is your own ? " x According to this, 
earthly riches are another's, and are not the true riches ; and 
until we learn to manage them according to the will of God, 
the higher blessings will not be committed to our charge. 
This is a very serious appeal. How frequently does the Lord 
in His Word inculcate upon us such duties as the giving of 
alms, laying up treasures in heaven, making to ourselves 
friends in the everlasting habitations with earthly mammon, 
and not fastening the heart upon riches ! 2 So that we easily 
see that one chief point in a Christian's life is to lay out 
earthly wealth at interest and usury for the kingdom of God. 
The man who will not intrust his body to the Lord will cer- 
tainly not intrust his soul to Him ; and just as little will 
he who, in the use of his wealth, forgets his future account- 
ability, employ his talents and his mind in the Lord's service. 

1 Luke, xvi. 10-12. 

2 Mark, x. 24; Luke, xii. 15-33; Matt. vi. 20; Luke, xvi. 9. 






52. The Love of Money is the Root of all Evil. 325 

For this reason I implore Thee, gracious God, help me to 
disengage my heart from all that I possess, that so I may 
cheerfully surrender it, to be at Thy free disposal. What am 
I, with all my wealth, but Thy purse-bearer ? Only let me 
hear Thy voice distinctly when Thou sayest, " Open my 
money-bag, and pay out for me ; " and then help me to 
perform with my hand what I have heard with my ears. 
Alas ! I know full well how easily a man may be brought to 
cleave anxiously to earthly wealth, and therefore I shrink 
from the least commencement of such idolatry of mammon. 
I almost tremble when I catch myself looking with special 
fondness upon a bit of gold. He who has never experienced 
that it fascinates like the eye of the rattlesnake, may laugh at 
me if he likes ; but the person who has once been bitten by a 
serpent may be excused for being afraid of even the bit of rope 
that he sees lying upon the road. 

Jesus, in Thy compassion great, 
Didst Thou, to share our poor estate 

On earth, resign Thy heavenly throne ? 
How deep my shame that earthly treasure 
Allures my heart, or gives it pleasure, 

Whose portion should be God alone ! 
Oh let Thy sore abasement be 
A faithful monitor to me, 
So that each wish unblest 
May humbly be confessed, 
And deeply mourned upon Thy breast. 

Straw and a manger were Thy bed ; 
No place hadst Thou to lay Thy head, 

When into earth's bleak desert born. 
How then shall i my head repose 
On pleasures withering as the rose, 

Since Thou for me didst bear such scorn ? 
Grant that Thy want and poverty 
My buckler and my shield may be, 
When greed of worldly gain, 
Or thirst of pleasures vain, 
Attempts in my weak heart to reign. 



326 53- Learn of Me, for I am meek and lowly. 

53. 

Heam of JHe, for £ am mzzk anfc lofolg. 

What is HUMILITY ? It is to be 

Ozone's own self forgetful. But to thee 

That seems a bitter morsel, and to mete 

Thy worth with that of others far more sweet. 

Make Jesus then thy model, and I think 

Thenceforth from all comparing thou wilt shrink. 

i John, ii. 16. "All that is in the world, the lust of the 
flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not 
of the Father, but is of the world." 

Matt. xi. 29. " Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me ; 
for I am meek and lowly in heart : and ye shall find rest 
unto your souls." 

Phil. ii. 2-5. "Fulfil ye my joy, that ye be like-minded, 
having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind. 
Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory ; but in 
lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than them- 
selves. Look not every man on his own things, but every 
man also on the things of others. Let this mind be in 
you, which was also in Christ Jesus." 

Ecclus. hi. 18-20. " The greater thou art, the more humble 
thyself, and thou shalt find favour before the Lord ; for 
the power of the Lord is great> and He is honoured of " 
(Luther's version, " doeth great things by") " the lowly." 

PRIDE was the first sin committed in the universe which 
God had created pure ; by it the archangel fell, and. was 
cast into the bottomless pit ; and pride is the last sin which is 
extirpated from the hearts of the regenerate. This St Augus- 
tine affirms. He says : " When the saint imagines that he sees 
all his lusts at his feet, and begins on that account to exult, 



53- Learn of Me, for I am meek and lowly. 327 

the voice of Satan is heard amidst his exultation calling to 
him, ' Why, man, dost thou rejoice ? see, even here I am pre- 
sent' " More than any other it is a sin which, when beaten 
from the outworks, can retreat into the inmost recesses of the 
breast, and more and more deceptively assume the form of an 
angel of light. Of all sins it is the most spiritual, and for that 
reason also the most deep-rooted and seductive. It is the sin 
through which man is most easily seduced into a conceit of his 
own greatness, and in that way it betrayed Lucifer to his fall. 
For what is the object to which haughtiness and pride aspire? 
Is it not the idea entertained by other men of our worth which 
casts its brightness and glimmer into our own soul, and so be- 
comes our idol ? Pride is consequently a spiritual idol. If it 
be true that that is a man's god which he loves supremely, 
then is the god of the miser a bit of metal produced in the 
dust of the earth; and the god of the voluptuary is the flesh, 
and the indulgence of its propensities. Not such the god of the 
proud man. That is begotten not of the dust, neither of the 
flesh, but of the spirit itself. No doubt here, as elsewhere, 
much depends on the kind of things for which a man values 
himself. These may be things which do not pertain to his true 
being, such as his coat, his house, or his estate ; or they may 
be spiritual things, — either talents, which belong to the head, 
and when governed by a dark heart are just so many instru- 
ments of ruin — or the virtuous qualities, which pertain to the 
real kernel of human nature. Suppose, then, that the homage 
which a man claims from his fellow-men is claimed for spiritual 
gifts, and exclusively for such of these as are his own enduring 
possession — viz., virtues of the heart — what are we to think? 
It may be very well to say to one who values himself for 
nothing but his clothes, " Let moths corrupt them if they 
will;" but when that for which he values himself is of divine 
nature and origin, is he not entitled to claim for it the homage 
of his fellow-men ? Let him who attempts to make something 
of his nothing, and to pass off his owl for a falcon, receive to 
his shame the ridicule which he deserves. But if a man have 



328 53- Learn of Me, for I am meek and lowly. 

a real falcon, is he not entitled to fly it off into the air in the 
presence of all the people, and to receive in their exultation and 
applause the tribute of honour which pertains to him ? Vanity, 
if it be as the'name imports — satisfaction in that which is empty 
and null — will be defended by no one. If, however, it be satis- 
faction in things that are really good, ought we not then to in- 
vite others to rejoice in them along with us, in order that in 
the light of their joy our gifts may show their true brightness ? 
Such, no doubt, has been the opinion, not merely of men of 
little but of men of great minds. One of these, whose doctrine 
— for reasons not difficult to understand — appears to many a 
far more joyful message than that which has sounded out into 
the world from the foot of a cross, I mean the poet Goethe, 
writes as follows : " What is called vanity was never offensive 
to me, and I, on my part, permitted myself to be vain in my 
turn ; that is, I felt no scruple in bringing into view the things 
about me with which I was pleased. The word vanity is too 
often misapplied; properly, it conveys with it the idea of 
emptiness, and is fairly used only to indicate a person who 
cannot conceal his satisfaction at his own nothingness." There 
is no doubt that he whose words these are was a great man ; 
but it is written, " Great men are not always wise ; " 1 and 
there is some truth also in the proverb, that " Great men's 
follies are never small." I will therefore rather appeal to Him 
who is supremely great, and who has told us, " Let your light 
so shine before men that they may see your good works." But 
here I do not read in the clause subjoined either " that you may 
rejoice over them," or " that you may obtain the prize which 
you deserve." What I read is, u And glorify your Father which 
is in heaven." To be sure, if we poor creatures possessed all 
we have otherwise than in fee — if we had grown it upon our 
own soil, and contributed to it not merely our strength and 
labour, but likewise the sunshine and rain that fostered its 
growth, we might then claim a right to let our good deeds shine 
before men in order to earn their praise. If, however, we pon- 

1 Job, xxxii. 9. 






5 3- Learn of Me, for I am meek and lowly. 329 

der the question of the apostle : man, " what hast thou that 
thou didst not receive ? Now if thou didst receive it, why- 
dost thou glory as if thou hadst not received it?" 1 — if among 
the things belonging to us, and upon which we might possibly 
congratulate ourselves, there be not one which does not remind 
us of the Giver of all good gifts, and far oftener how shamefully 
these have been abused by us, and embezzled and defaced, — the 
very last idea to enter our minds must be that of parading 
them before men, merely that they may praise us. No : even 
were they to come, as they once did to Barnabas and Saul, 
with sacrifices and garlands, ought we not then, like these 
apostles, to be ready rather to rend our clothes and cry out : 
" Sirs, why do ye these things ? we also are men of like passions 
with you. If there be anything praiseworthy about us, look up 
to those bright heights from which every good and perfect gift 
cometh down as streams do from the mountains to irrigate and 
bless the plains below " ? 2 Certainly the feeling nearest the 
heart of a Christian when he observes anything good in or 
about himself is not vanity, but mere gratitude. And though it 
may be a good of an inferior kind — such, for example, as a fine 
commanding figure, which captivates the beholder before the 
mouth speaks, or fluent speech and wit, or graceful and amiable 
manners by which the heart is enchained; and though all 
others may fix their eyes solely upon the poor instrument 
deemed worthy of so rich an endowment, still, if he be a child 
of God, he will only look up to the heavenly Father, and de- 
sire that the due praise and worship for having so nobly fur- 
nished and adorned one of His human creatures should be 
offered to Him alone. For myself, were such homage offered 
to me on every side, far from inspiring exultation, it would only 
make me sad. I know too well who the Superior is who has 
so liberally and generously provided for his poor vassal ; and 
I know, too, that all His gifts might have been improved to 
His honour and glory far more faithfully than I have ever done. 
No holier tears can be shed than those which are shed by him 
1 1 Cor. iv. 7. 2 Acts, xiv. 14 et seq. 



330 53- Learn of Me, for I am meek and lowly. 

who receives praise to which he has no title. And is not this the 
case wherever men squander upon His servants the commen- 
dation which pertains to the Lord alone. But ah ! how many 
there are who allow themselves to be seduced from that which 
is good by the very benefits with which heavenly Love has 
blessed them, and shut the door of their hearts against the 
Giver for no better reason than because they have bestowed 
all their love upon His gifts — like the honeysuckle, which, 
although it owes its blossoms to the sunbeams, excludes light 
from the bower ! 

If a man have once yielded to seduction so far as to accept as 
rightfully due to himself the homage due only to the Lord, how 
ready he then also becomes to forget the admonition addressed 
by the apostle to every man, " Not to think of himself more 
highly than he ought to think." x In such a case we do not 
rest in the gifts we have received, but take credit for many 
more which we have not received, make others little, that we 
may magnify ourselves, forget the blemishes and sores which 
we bear in our souls within, and seek occasions for display, 
till at last we are not only not contented to be above all men, 
but cannot tolerate to have others at our side, and so the usual 
issue is that a man comes to look even upon God as his enemy. 
Generally, in fact, it is in the apostasy of the heart from God 
that the original root of all pride and vanity is to be sought, 
according to the words of Sirach : " The beginning of pride is 
when one departeth from God, and his heart is turned away 
from his Maker" 2 The dark spirit of rebellion proceeds ever 
further and further, until the man takes his seat in the temple 
of the Lord, and worships no God but himself. Avarice turns 
man into a stone and lust into a brute, but pride makes him a 
devil; and little progress has been made in self-knowledge by 
him who has never discovered in the human breast the black 
teeth of the dragon, from which basilisks like this may spring 
up. Has not heathenism itself, in the fables of Prometheus 
and the Titans, borne testimony to this fact; for what else 

1 Rom. xii. 3. a Ecclus. x. 14. 



53- Learn of Me, for I am meek and lowly. 331 

were these designed to teach, save that a dark and blind spirit 
dwells in man which will worship none but itself, and is never 
content until it has wrested the sceptre from the hand of 
Omnipotence in heaven ? 

Humility! humility! thou noblest and most difficult of all 
human virtues, in what school can we learn thee ? Certainly 
in none but His who has said, " Take my yoke upon you and 
learn of me, for I am meek and lowly of heart." 1 There are 
many vices over which a man may become master without 
religion, and mainly by the help of pride, as when lions are 
used to subdue hyenas. But pride, with all its kindred brood 
of vanity, arrogance, and self-conceit, no man can effectually 
overcome without religion, or otherwise than by the spirit of 
Jesus Christ. Until he has been brought to bow the knee 
before the Father of lights, as the giver of every good and 
perfect gift, he will bend it only before himself, and will con- 
tinually look upon all he possesses as Nebuchadnezzar did 
upon Babylon, saying, " Is not this great Babylon, that I have 
built by the might of my power, and for the honour of my 
majesty?" 2 It is in this manner that piety, by making us feel 
that we possess not one single advantage which we can call our 
own, but are dependent and helpless creatures, who need to 
receive from a stranger's hand our spiritual, like our bodily 
food, generally leads us to humility before God ; and not until 
we have become humble before Him can we ever become 
humble before mm. But how much better is this lesson 
learned in the school of Christ ? There we are tutored into 
poverty of spirit; there we are led to see that we are not 
merely dependent and helpless, but wicked and perverse, children 
of the heavenly Father, who in justice deserve nothing but to 
be rejected, but to whom, nevertheless, He stretches out His 
paternal arms. There, too, we behold the only-begotten Son 
of the Father, Himself bereft of His radiant crown, and walk- 
ing about among the sick and wretched, as one who came into 
the world for nothing but to " minister." 3 How can any one 
1 Matt. xi. 29. 2 Dan. iv. 30. 3 Matt. xx. 28. 



332 53- Learn of Me, for I am meek and lowly. 

who in this school has heard of the ten thousand talents which 
he owed to the King of kings, and of the free and gracious 
remission to him of the debt, ever possibly lay hands upon a 
fellow-servant who owes him a hundred pence, and insist on 
being paid? How can he possibly be jealous and despise 
others, or aspire to sit above them? 1 Nothing is so well 
calculated to promote humility as the knowledge of our guilt 
in the sight of God; and often when I see this one or that 
proudly vaunting himself, and sitting in judgment upon his 
neighbour, I would fain take him by the arm and say, " Friend, 
remember the ten thousa?id talents." It is quite true that "life 
and death are in the power of the tongue;" 2 but the tongue 
in its turn is in the power either of a proud heart or of one 
which grace has made humble ; for the tongue is only the 
heart's interpreter. Why do people preach so much against 
backbiting, evil-speaking, and judging others? Can anything 
else proceed out of the mouth but that which springs in the 
heart ? and there, so deeply rooted is the desire to lower others 
in order to raise ourselves, that the evil admits of no remedy, 
until in the school of Jesus we have thoroughly learned the 
meaning of the word Grace. 

And even after grace has driven self-conceit from the heart, 
how easily and unobservedly it can steal back, unless we do 
our utmost to stand upon our guard ! for certain there is no 
sin which so insensibly entangles us afresh in its snare as pride. 
An Eastern poet says — 

' ' Seest thou the black foot of the ant, when at the dead of night 
It o'er the dark stone silently speeds its mysterious flight ? 
Yet harder far I ween of pride the stealthy steps to trace, 
When in the bosom of the saint it seeks its long-lost place." 

We need do nothing but begin comparing ourselves with others, 
and pride instantly makes its appearance afresh. The apostle 
says, " Let every man prove his own work, and then shall he 
have rejoicing in himself alone, and not in another; for every 
man shall bear his own burden." 3 If he cease for a moment 
1 Matt, xviii. 23. 2 Prov. xviii. 21. 3 Gal. vi. 4, 5. 



53- Learn of Me, for I am meek and lowly. 333 

to direct his view simply and straightly to his own work and 
burden, self-conceit immediately recurs. There can be no 
doubt that the reason why our Saviour was so fond of children 
was, that they are without self-conceit. When His disciples 
inquired which of them would be greatest in the kingdom of 
heaven, He called a little child unto Him, and set him in the 
midst of them, and said : " Verily I say unto you, Except ye 
be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter 
into the kingdom of heaven. Whosoever, therefore, shall 
humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the 
kingdom of heaven." 1 The child does not compare, exercises 
little reflection, looks neither to the right nor left, and the son 
of a king will play with a beggar's boy without thinking of his 
dignity at all. Now the longer a man frequents the school of 
Jesus, the more he learns to keep in his own path, to commit 
to the Lord, whose servants they are, the task of pronouncing 
judgment upon others, to abstain from all comparisons, and to 
go with his burden to the Lord in prayer. How beautiful it 
is to see true Christian humility gladdening the eyes of all 
others, but unconscious of its own brightness ! In fact, what 
lovelier spectacle can be presented to the view of men or 
angels than a disciple of Jesus ever employed in covering the 
glowing embers of charity beneath the ashes of self-abasement ? 
We read that when Moses came down from the presence of 
the Lord the skin of his face shone, " but he wist not of it."* 
And is not this written for an ensample to us all ? In like 
manner the blessed apostle was not looking to the right or 
the left when he made the confession : " This is a faithful say- 
ing, and worthy of all accep f ation, that Jesus Christ came into 
the world to save sinners, of whom I am the chief. " z And so 
it always is with him who abstains from comparing himself 
with others ; in his own eyes he is ever the worst. For cer- 
tain St Paul never once looked either up or down the bench 
of penitents to see whether Zaccheus or the Magdalene or 
the crucified thief were seated below him. He looked no 

Matt, xviii. 3, 4. 2 Exod. xxxiv. 29. 3 1 Tim. i. 15. 



334 S3- Learn of Me, for I am meek and lowly. 

where but at his own account, and that was the reason he ap- 
peared to himself so little and so vile. To the same effect he 
writes, " Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory ; but 
in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves" 
It might be supposed that here too much is required, in respect 
that to esteem every other better than one's self is simply im- 
possible. In my opinion, however, all that the apostle in- 
tended was, that he who proposes to sweep his own front 
clean will need all his brooms for the purpose, and will have 
no leisure for large observation of the broken pots which may 
possibly be lying behind a neighbour's door ; and it is only 
what we observe that we pass judgment upon. In this man- 
ner humility is the source of charity, which, until unavoidably 
forced to the contrary, " beareth all things, believeth all 
things, hopeth all things, endureth all things." 1 

And yet Christian humility will not throw herself away, and 
never appear but in the guise of a miserable sinner ; because 
He, in whose school we have all been made miserable sinners, 
has likewise made us children of God, — in the exercise of free 
grace no doubt, and not for the merit of our works, that no 
flesh may boast. Christian humility will not throw itself away 
because occasions may come which require a Christian to 
avouch and vindicate both what and how much grace has been 
bestowed upon him. Not in vain has it been recorded that St 
Paul asserted his right to the privileges of a Roman citizen ; 2 
and as members of Christ and subjects of His kingdom, we 
also have rights and prerogatives. Generally, indeed, the 
humble disciple of Jesus walks through life with a bent rather 
than with an uplifted head, like a tree loaded with fruit. When 
the occasion emerges, however, he too can hold his head up 
like others. He does not, indeed, either say or sing much 
about the gifts and graces which he has received, just as full 
vessels differ from empty ones by the feebler sound which they 
emit. But where the case calls for it, he also can cheerfully 
sing and play, not indeed to his own, but to his Master's glory. 
1 i Cor. xiii. 7. 2 Acts, xxii. 28. 



53- Learn of Me, for I am meek and lowly. 335 

Under the purifying influence of the Spirit of Christ, we reach 
a point at which, in childlike simplicity, we can be conscious 
of, and are able also, if need be, to assert, the gifts we have 
received. A Christian may advance so far as, totally irre- 
spective of himself to defend his honour, office, good name, 
and right of adoption, solely as a good conferred upon him by 
the Lord. No doubt this is a difficult, a very difficult attain- 
ment. It is perhaps the last and loftiest stage to which the 
Spirit of the Lord elevates a believer when he can contend for 
what he possesses in such a way as to be really contending 
for his Lord. There are, however, some — nay, many — who 
in the school of Jesus have learned this art. Of Thee, there- 
fore, O Lord, I now implore to take me also more and more 
into Thy school. I must confess, to Thine honour, that Thy 
Spirit has made a new man of me. I have learned humility. 
I am conscious of being humbled — humbled like the grain of 
dust at my feet ; and I have also been humbled in the sight 
of others. I judge no one. I know that all I have is of grace, 
and that for what I lack I deserve Thy wrath, and it is for 
that reason I judge no one. In spite of all this, however, 
there do come times in which I permit myself to fancy that I 
am something, and when I feel that it is very hard to minister. 
Take me then, O Jesus, who wert Thyself so humble, into 
Thy school. In truth I would fain learn to minister, and learn 
it from Thy example. Thou knowest how much I hate myself 
— hate my vain and haughty heart, which can still so shame- 
fully and slavishly satiate itself with human praise. Take me 
into Thy school, my Saviour and my Lord, and help me to 
become humble. 

Lord, like the sun without its crown 

Of rays, didst Thou to earth come down, 

And walk in lowliness ; 
And that the timid might not fear, 
Didst hide Thy majesty while here 

Beneath a servile dress. 
Lord, in Thy school I fain would be, 
To learn humility of Thee. 



336 54- Learn of Me, for I am meek and lowly. 



O mild and holy Light, 
Beam on my inward sight, - 
Show me my littleness aright. 

Lo, in an equal line we see 

Thy saints of high and low degree 

Advancing to the throne. 
'Mong them no pride and strife appear; 
One king they own, one badge they wear 

Their king is David's Son. 
Zaccheus and the thief between, 
Walks, all in tears, the Magdalene, 

And next to them St John ; 
And all receive the great reward 
Of absolution from the Lord. 



54. 

3Learn of fEe, for 31 am merit antr lofolg. 

Wrath is so grim and wild aflame, 
Who doubts that from helFs pit it came ? 
And I with it all league disclai??i. 

My son, at common fire you take alarm, 
But if it BURN ON ALTARS, dread no harm : 
Drop, then, the Master's spirit on thine ire, 
And with THAT INCENSE consecrate tltefire. 






Matt. v. 5. " Blessed are the meek : for they shall inherit 
the earth." 

Matt. xi. 29. "Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; 
for I am meek and lowly in heart : and ye shall find rest 
unto your souls." 

Titus, iii. 2-5. " To speak evil of no man, to be no brawl- 
ers, but gentle, showing all meekness unto all men. For 
we ourselves also were sometimes foolish, disobedient, 
deceived, serving divers lusts and pleasures, living in 
malice and envy, hateful, and hating one another. But 



54- Learn of Me, for I am meek and lowly. 337 

after that the kindness and love of God our Saviour to- 
ward man appeared, not by works of righteousness which 
we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, 
by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy 
Ghost." 

SACRED in the view of every Christian soul stands the 
image of the Saviour's meekness. How often has it 
caused the towering waves raised by the storms of passion in 
the hearts of men to subside ! How often have the arms that 
were lifted up in anger dropped at the sight of it ! If there be 
any virtue which men generally expect to find in a disciple of 
the Lord, it is meekness. Like humility and charity, it is 
looked upon as a peculiarly Christian grace. Humility and 
meekness are twin sisters, and grow like buds on the common 
stalk of charity. " For," saith the apostle, " charity suffereth 
long, and is kind," and, consequently, is likewise humble and 
meek. Not only did the Saviour and His apostles frequently 
inculcate meekness by word of mouth — He did it much more 
forcibly by His actions and His sufferings. There is so great 
kindness and benignity, gentleness, and condescension, in His 
whole demeanour, that even if we had not been told, we might 
at once have divined that, according to His own affirmation, 
" God sent not His Son into the world to condemn the world, 
but that the world through Him might be saved." 1 And, in 
truth, he who proposes to save the world can come to it in 
no other garb save that of meekness and gentleness. And 
what is there that preaches this virtue so loudly as the cross ? 
A crucifix appears a very simple object, and yet it may well 
be doubted whether these crucifixes have not done more to 
spread the Gospel than multitudes of preachers. For myself, 
I cannot look upon one but a wondrous throng of devout and 
holy thoughts rush through my heart: and what a crucifix 
preaches most of all is meekness and patient obedience, so 
that one might imagine that, with a cross before his eyes, 

1 John, iii. 17. 
Y 



33§ 54- Learn of Me, for I am meek and lowly. 

or a picture of Him who suffered upon it, it would be impos- 
sible for a Christian to utter a harsh or an injurious word. 
A gentle and meek spirit is one of the highest and holiest 
virtues with which a Christian can be endowed ; nor is it, as 
many suppose, by any means a feminine virtue. On the con- 
trary, when rightly understood, it is rather a stro7ig, masculine, 
and heroic virtue. According to the words of Solomon : " He 
that is slow to anger is better than the mighty ; and he that 
ruleth his spirit, than he that taketh a city." 1 It requires 
greater strength of soul to endure aright protracted suffering, 
than to achieve some arduous enterprise of faith. For the latter, 
all that is needed is to collect the energies for a moment, and 
under circumstances that excite to action; whereas, for the 
former, as great a force of faith and submission must be 
opposed to suffering, and this must be done for years, and 
repeated every moment, without any stimulus from without. 

Meekness and patience are virtues of a noble class, and no 
one knows so well as I myself how much I need the daily 
teaching of the meek and patient Saviour, that in this way 
also I may learn to tread in His footsteps. At the same time, 
with all my heart I hate that kind of meekness which cannot 
be angry when there is a just cause for anger. Such meekness, 
I know, does not spring from a divine root. No doubt it is 
written, "The wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of 
God ; " 2 and elsewhere we are admonished not to let the sun 
go down upon our wrath. 3 The proverb also says that " he 
who controls his anger conquers an enemy ; " but, neverthe- 
less, anger does not always come from the wicked one. The 
Holy One of Israel is said "to roar like a lion" 4 in His 
wrath ; and there is also a wrath of the Lamb, before which 
the men of the world will tremble, and call to the mountains 
and rocks, " Fall on us, and hide us from the face of Hi?n that 
sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb," 5 so ter- 
rible will be the anger of the Saviour when He appears in His 

1 Prov. xvi. 32. 2 James, i. 20. 3 Eph. iv. 26. 

4 Hos. xi. 10. 5 Rev. vi. 16. 



I 



54- Learn of Me, for I am meek and lowly. 339 

kingly office. He was also, however, angry, when in His 
humiliation He sojourned among men; for it is written, "He 
looked round about on them with anger, being grieved for the 
hardness of their hearts." 1 Was He not angry when He plaited 
a scourge of cords and drove out those who had made His 
Father's house a den of thieves ? Was He not angry when 
eight times in succession He pronounced a woe upon the 
hypocritical scribes who garnished the sepulchres of the 
righteous, and at the same time put righteous men to death ? 
and again, when He said to them, " Ye serpents, ye genera- 
tion of vipers, how can ye escape the damnation of hell ? " 2 
Besides, can any one love the Lord God with all his heart 
who does not hate those that hate Him, according to the 
ancient boast of the Psalmist : " Do not I hate them, O Lord, 
who hate Thee ? and am not I grieved with those that rise up 
against Thee? I hate them with perfect hatred"? 3 In my 
opinion, righteous anger is nothing but abhorrence of evil 
carried into action, and conscious of the grounds on which it 
rests. 

And it is only when I reflect upon what righteous anger is, 
that I clearly see how greatly I sin in this way. We are 
angry, but in our anger what we look to is not the cause of 
God, not His eternal law and truth, but ourselves. For the 
most part, human anger flows not from hatred of that which is 
evil, but from love of self The consequence is, we do not 
know why we are angry, and therefore the proverb says with 
truth that anger is blind. It bewilders the head, and hence is 
always followed by repentance, of which it is said that " where 
wrath ends repentance begins." Holy anger, however, is well 
aware of its own reasons ; for just as in his love, so likewise in 
his anger, does the Christian take his God and Saviour as a 
pattern. All that can be done by love he does, patiently waits 
where there is the hope of repentance, and does not suffer the 
flame of indignation to blaze until the measure of iniquity is 
full. Even when compelled to smite, he imitates his God, 

1 Mark, iii. 5. 2 Matt, xxiii. 33. 3 Psalm cxxxix. 21, 22. 



340 54- Leam of Me, for I am meek and lowly. 

who avers : " In my wrath I smote thee, but in my favour 
have I had mercy on thee." 1 

Hence, when the Holy Scriptures so sharply forbid anger, a 
distinction must needs be drawn, because in these cases the 
anger is of the kind spoken of by the Lord when He says, 
" Whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall 
be in danger of the judgment." 2 And what kind of anger 
that is, not obscurely appears when he describes it as a trans- 
gression of the commandment, Thou shalt not kill ; for this 
clearly intimates that he refers to an anger which has already, 
so to speak, begun to kill in the heart, and is seeking revenge 
solely in its own behalf, and not from a regard to God, or in 
order that righteousness and equity may be established on the 
earth, and a wall of defence raised against the transgressor. 

What would have become of the Church if the Lord's 
servants and prophets had at all times done nothing else but 
spread salves upon sores and walk softly ? In selecting instru- 
ments for His work, has He not always preferred those who 
had fortitude enough to feel a just and noble indignation at 
the ungodliness of the world? Take, for example, our own 
Luther. No doubt he often carried his wrath somewhat too 
far and cried too loud, of which he never failed humbly to 
repent ; still, upon the whole, he showed great boldness and 
confidence that he was right in the indignation with which he 
combated the enemies of the Gospel. On one occasion, when 
asked by the Margrave Joachim, 2d, Why he wrote against 
the princes ? he returned the beautiful answer : " When God 
intends to fertilise the ground He must needs send first of 
all a good thunder-storm, and afterwards a slow and gentle 
rain, and thus make it thoroughly productive." Elsewhere he 
says, " A willow branch may be cut with a knife and bent with 
a finger, but for a great and gnarled oak we must use an axe 
and a wedge ; " and again, " If my teeth had been less sharp, 
the Pope would have been more voracious" " Of what use is 
salt," he exclaims, in another passage, " if it do not bite the 
1 Isa. lx. 10. 2 Matt. v. 22. 



54- Learn of Me, for I am meek and lowly. 341 

tongue ? or the blade of a sword, unless it be sharp enough to 
cut ? " Does not the prophet say, " Cursed be he that doeth 
the work of the Lord deceitfully, and keepeth back his sword 
from blood " ? In all this, accordingly, the humble - minded 
man was conscious that he was doing what in the sight of God 
he had a right to do. At the same time, however, he had no 
desire to infringe the right of other good Christians by insist- 
ing that they should do the same ; and heartily loved, and 
often wished to resemble, his friend Philip Melanchthon, who 
was of a gentler disposition. And to Brentius, another of his 
friends, he wrote these kind and beautiful words : "It is not 
thyself, Brentius, whom I praise, but the spirit which is in 
thee, and which is far more gentle, affectionate, and peaceable 
than mine, and, moreover, is adorned with all the arts of elo- 
quence. Hence it is that thy discourse flows forth purer and 
clearer and more intelligible than that of other men, and con- 
sequently is better liked, and goes deeper into the heart. 
Whereas my spirit, besides being inexperienced in the liberal 
arts and destitute of refinement, does nothing but belch forth 
a vast forest and host of words, and thereby its fate is to be 
more uproarious and stormy. It is combative and must always 
be fighting with wild and monstrous beasts. To compare 
small things with great : ' Of the fourfold spirit of Elias} I 
have received the wind and the- earthquake and the fire, which rent 
the mountains and brake in pieces the rocks ; ' whereas thou, and 
they who are like thee, have received ' the rustling breeze, so 
soft and gentle ' and cooling. And that is the reason why I, 
not to speak of others, take so much pleasure in thy writings 
and conversation. I console myself, however, with the belief, 
or rather the knowledge, that God, who is the great Head of 
the heavenly family, requires for the service of His vast house- 
hold a few at least who can be harsh to the harsh and stern 
to the stern." But however harshly the good man may have 
comported himself in his writings, no reader, especially of his 
letters, can fail to see that he could be above all measure 

1 1 1 Kings, xix. 



342 54- Learn of Me, for I am meek and lowly. 

igentle and affectionate. Old Master Mathesius, who for many- 
years sat at his table, and had daily intercourse with him, bears 
this testimony : " He was sharp with those who were sharp, 
and bore himself towards others as they did towards him ; but 
any who were about him, and had the benefit of his consola- 
tions, kind offices, and prayers, can testify with truth that his 
was a gentle and modest spirit." 

How difficult it is for the children of men to keep in the 
right track ! If in ten instances they have gone to excess with 
their noise and bluster, their threatenings and abuse, they try 
to do better in the eleventh by holding their peace like dumb 
dogs when they ought to speak out — calling what is black 
white, and practising generosity at the expense of God. It is 
true, as Luther has said, that " the world is like a thistle-head, 
which always points its prickles up on whatever side you 
choose to turn it." How earnest, therefore, ought to be the 
prayer of the sincere disciple, that the Lord Jesus would be 
pleased to take him into His school and teach him the right 
time when to speak and when to keep silence, when to be 
angry and when to show affection, when to strive and when 
to forbear ! Oh how greatly I wish not to be numbered 
among those who, for the sake of being friends with the world, 
become enemies to God, and in place of prosecuting His holy 
wars prefer false peace, and tarry at home with wife and child ! 
Fain would I, were it but the Lord's will, attach myself as the 
last and humblest member to that holy train of prophets and 
martyrs who " esteemed the reproach of Christ greater riches 
than the treasures of the world." 1 Bitterly did men hate and 
persecute our Lord, though He was the all-perfect pattern of 
wisdom, gentleness, and modesty ; and I know that if I con- 
fess His name before them, the disciple in this respect also 
will not be above his Master. At the same time, I would 
fain keep in mind the injunction of the apostle : " See that ye 
walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise," 2 " especially 
towards them that are without." 3 And again, " If it be pos- 
1 Heb. xi. 26 ; xii. 1. 2 Eph. v. 15. 3 Col. iv. 5. 



54- Learn of Me, for I am meek and lowly. 343 

sible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men." 1 
And once more, " Let your moderation be \ known unto all 
men." 2 Moreover, I know that the beatitude, "Blessed are 
ye when men shall revile you and persecute you, and shall 
say all manner of evil against you/' has. the word '•falsely " for 
its adjunct. I desire, therefore, with my whole heart to possess 
that spirit of peace, gentleness, and meekness which likes a 
thousand times better to bless than to punish. I know the 
stormy impatience of my heart. I know how difficult a task 
it is for me to sympathise with the foibles of my brethren as if 
they were my own, and how the flesh often deludes us into the 
belief that we are contending for God when we are thinking 
only of ourselves. How, then, shall I attain to such a right, 
meek, and gentle spirit ? How shall I acquire the calm com- 
posure from which no action emanates which has not been 
proved by the eye of God, and upon which the divine amen 
has not imprinted its seal ? In my opinion, the most effectual 
means is to allow the Holy Spirit to write every morning afresh 
upon the heart the words, " By grace are ye saved, and that not 
of yourselves" 3 

If gentle grace have touched the heart, 

It bids the passions cease, 
Bids the foul brood of wrath depart, 

And tunes the mind to peace. 

For He who healed men's feud with heaven, 

And bought my pardon too, 
Has made the debt to me forgiven, 

By me to others due. 

And now, however vile they be, 

I own my flesh and blood, 
And for the guiltiest whom I see 

Count not myself too good. 

Tender and soft my heart has grown, 

Patient and kind to all ; 
The rays from the bright model thrown 

Upon the copy fall. 



1 Rom. xii. 18. 2 Phil. iv. 5. 3 Eph. ii. 8 ; Matt, xviii. 23-35. 



344 55- Put away Lying, and speak Truth, 

And so, as if all war were o'er, 

I gladly sheathe the sword, 
Determined ne'er to draw it more 

Save at Thy bidding, Lord. 

And for this reason, O heavenly Father, grant that when in the 
presence of an adversary I may never forget the magnitude of 
the debt which Thou hast mercifully remitted to me. On my 
own part I must forgive all, forget all, and endure all at his 
hands. Only when from the bottom of my heart I am pre- 
pared to say that I have no longer an enemy upon the earth — 
only then, O my God and Father, am I worthy to bear arms 
in Thy wars — only then am I capable of fighting with a truly 
holy zeal. Yes : the flesh will often deceive me into the belief 
that I am wielding the sword for Thy honour when I am doing 
it solely for my own ; and I know that soldiers who fight with 
a zeal so impure do more harm than good to Thy cause. 
Enlighten, therefore, mine eye, that I may always be able to 
distinguish in my bosom the fire that burns for Thee from that 
which burns for myself. 



55. 

3£ut aftrag iLgmg, anfc speak &rutjj. 

Oh no ! I WOULD NOT TELL A LIE, 

Though one false word the world could gain ; 
Fleeting and false all gains that I 
On other ways than God's obtain. 

God cannot lie, and therefore if 

A lie for me a crown could win, 
Or save from instant death my life, 

I WOULD NOT STOOP TO SUCH A SIN. 

Psalm xv. 1,2. " Lord, who shall abide in Thy tabernacle 
who shall dwell in Thy holy hill ? He that walketh up- 



55- Put away Lying, and speak Truth. 345 

rightly, and worketh righteousness, and speaketh the truth 
in his heart." 

Eph. iv. 25. "Wherefore, putting away lying, speak every 
man truth with his neighbour : for we are members one 
of another." 

Acts, v. t-ii. "But a certain man named Ananias, with 
Sapphira his wife, sold a possession, and kept back part 
of the price, his wife also being privy to it, and brought 
a certain part, and laid it at the apostles' feet. But Peter 
said, Ananias, why hath Satan filled thine heart to lie to 
the Holy Ghost, and to keep back part of the price of the 
land? Whiles it remained, was it not thine own? and 
after it was sold, was it not in thine own power? why 
hast thou conceived this thing in thine heart? thou hast 
not lied unto men, but unto God. And Ananias hearing 
these words fell down, and gave up the ghost : and great 
fear came on all them that heard these things. And the 
young men arose, wound him up, and carried him out, 
and buried him. And it was about the space of three 
hours after, when his wife, not knowing what was done, 
came in. And Peter answered unto her, Tell me whether 
ye sold the land for so much ? And she said, Yea, for so 
much. Then Peter said unto her, How is that ye have 
agreed together to tempt the Spirit of the Lord? Behold, 
the feet of them which have buried thy husband are at the 
door, and shall carry thee out. Then fell she down straight- 
way at his feet, and yielded up the ghost : and the young 
men came in, and found her dead, and, carrying her forth, 
buried her by her husband. And great fear came upon 
all the Church, and upon as many as heard these things." 

UPON me, too, comes great fear when I read this history 
of Ananias and Sapphira ; and every one who reads it 
surely must say, " How black a sin lying must be in the eyes 
of God!" Nor can it be its injurious consequences which 
make it so black, for what injury ensued from the lie of 



34-6 55- Put away Lying, and speak Truth. 

Ananias and his wife? Not on account of the loss done 
thereby to the Church of the Lord does the apostle inflict the 
punishment ; that loss he does not even mention, but rather 
says : " Whiles it remained, was it not thine own ? and after 
it was sold, was it not in thine own power ? " It is not, there- 
fore, the injury which he rebukes, it is the mere lie : " Thou 
hast not lied unto men, but unto God." That they had told a lie, 
and intended thereby to deceive the servants of God — this is 
the subject of his censure. Even in its own nature, therefore, 
lying must be the offspring of darkness. If it were not, how 
could it happen that once over the lips it recoils with such 
a weight upon the heart ? It is so small a word, and slips so 
glibly from the tongue, and yet the moment it is uttered it falls 
back like a mountain upon the heart and almost crushes it. 

Out on a lie ! it has no power like truth 
To lift the burden from the labouring breast. 

If, then, it be not its injurious consequences which blacken 
it — if it be already black at its birth into the world — no advan- 
tage to be reaped from it can ever wash it white. Why should 
falsehood be the only thing which expediency can purge from 
black to white ? What ! shall expediency make honourable 
a coward lie and not do the same for every other, perhaps 
even more sturdy, offspring of the womb of darkness ? Why 
not also for deceit, incontinence, theft, and daring murder 
itself? What sort of a privilege can cowardly lying, and it 
alone, possess ? Expediency ! Well, if that be the haven 
towards which the little bark of your virtue steers its course, 
I am not surprised that it is wrecked a thousand times before 
it arrives; for, methinks, virtue and prosperity are two buds 
which we do not often find growing upon one stalk. And 
especially with respect to truth. Is not that the commodity 
which at all times has had fewest customers in the market? 
Has it not always been found, as the proverb says, that " He 
who plays tunes upon truth will have the instrument broken 
over his head ; " and again, " He that speaks the truth will 
have short notice to quit his quarters " ? Indeed it must also 



55- Put away Lying, and speak Truth. 347 

be said that truth is far too high-minded to be satisfied merely 
with the estimation paid to it on the score of its utility. 
Would not the case be that of the sun borrowing a candle to 
help people to see its brightness ? If it be not an accidental 
rhyme, " Be true and rue" neither is it accidental that right 
chimes with bright. Yes, sacred truth, thou art bright in thy- 
self, and thou art holy in thyself. Never since I first heard 
it has the following saying departed from my mind : " If the 
world were suspended upon the thread of a lie, and I knew 
the word of truth which would cut that thread in twain, that 
word would I pronounce, although the world and all created 
things were to drop into the abyss." 

Does God ever pretend to be other than He is ? are not all 
His ways truth ? God Himself is truth, and he who sins against 
truth sins against God. That is enough to make the word of 
truth sacred to me. I need none of the arguments which 
others allege, such as that our Maker has given speech to man 
in order that it might be the picture of his thought, and that 
therefore lying is a sin against the purpose of God, and the 
use for which speech was destined ; that it is an abuse of con- 
fidence and charity towards our neighbour, who takes it for 
granted that we use speech for the purpose which it was in- 
tended to subserve. These arguments may be good in their 
place. Enough for me to say with David, " O Lord, Thou 
art God, and Thy words be true ; " 1 and being the servant of 
the Lord, I will walk on no other path but His. Moreover, 
I see what becomes of those who try to bargain for an abate- 
ment of the truth. The stone cannot be stopped which has 
once begun to roll down the hill, and one lie produces seven. 
If you are to consider good reasons a sufficient excuse for 
passing s off a lie — ah me ! how cheap these are, especially 
when furnished by a wicked heart ! I never saw a thief use 
his light fingers who had not good reasons to plead for doing 
so, although the only true one might have been that his fingers 
itched. Let the conscience have become so relaxed as to sell 
1 2 Sam. vii. 28. 



34$ 55- Put away Lying, and speak Truth. 

its consent for what are called good reasons, and I know of 
nothing which it will not sell. Rather will I say with the 
poet, — 

1 ' The conscience which men pliant call, 
Is much the same as none at all." 

No doubt Ananias and Sapphira had their good reasons for 
keeping back part of the money. Peter, too, had his, when 
he falsely swore that he did not know the Son of man. Had 
not even Judas good reasons when he betrayed Him ? I affirm 
that if a man wishes to sell himself to the devil he has only to 
begin by crediting his good reasons. I have often paid attention, 
both in myself and others, to the way in which the devil spins 
his thread. At first we observe that we are about to affirm 
to ourselves what is not true, and are still somewhat afraid. In 
a little time the thing appears to us not unlikely, and after a 
few minutes more the net is drawn together and the bird 
caught. Such is almost always the process when a lie comes 
to a man and asks a passport dictated by itself. 

Dear Master, a monstrous sophist dwells in my heart, and 
he has an inexhaustible treasure of excuses for everything that 
is well-pleasing to the old Adam within me. Protect me from 
the good reasons of the devil, and make the word of truth 
sacred in my eyes. 

There is probably no one who would not be alarmed were 
he calmly to reflect upon the enormous amount of lies which 
men tell to each other. They confess that this is dishonour- 
able, and are ashamed of themselves ; but they do not give up 
the practice, and when they return to the company of their 
fellows begin to lie afresh. The taste of truth is very bitter, 
and they will not have it otherwise. We have here a new 
instance of the slave who desires to be delivered from his 
chain, but who, because the chain is of gold, is fain to keep 
hold of it still. Never am I so struck with the extraordinary 
degree in which falsehood prevails among men, as when I 
figure to myself the terror which would overwhelm a company 
if their breasts were at once to become transparent, so that 



55- Put away Lying, and speak Truth. 349 

they could read what was passing in each other's hearts. The 
following story is told : When Ottacar, King of Bohemia, ven- 
tured to take arms against the Emperor Rudolf, and when the 
two armies — the German and the Bohemian — already con- 
fronted each other, the King deemed it more advisable, after 
all, to tender the oath of allegiance to the Emperor, but only 
before the magnates of the realm, and inside of the imperial 
tent. He came for the purpose, but had scarce dropped upon 
his knee before the throne when a rope was drawn and the 
four sides of the tent fell to the ground, exposing the haughty 
monarch in this humiliating posture to the view of all the 
people. Were the walls which hide the secrets of our breasts 
suddenly to collapse, of a truth our terror would scarcely be 
less ; and yet they who thus lie one to another are brethren, 
members of one body ! 

It appears, indeed, that between truth on one side and false- 
hood on the other, men have built a bridge, which they call a 
white lie. And what is it that they thereby mean ? Do they 
in general mean anything else than a lie for which they have 
some good reason ? The virtue of truthfulness, in the opinion of 
the world, is the difficult virtue of never lying without a purpose 
and object. If, however, under the banner of white lies, the 
privilege of free entrance and issue be given to all lies which 
are profitable to one's purse and dear self, no honest man 
can doubt who the captain is under whom such persons are 
serving. 

There are, indeed, certain intricate cases in which even a 
Christian conscience may feel somewhat perplexed what to do ; 
for example, when a lie of this kind is presented to it as a duty 
of charity towards a brother, and when that brother's welfare 
or life is to be purchased by the false coin. If it be lawful — 
nay, obligatory — for me to sacrifice life for a brother, why may 
I not likewise sacrifice truth ? I can easily imagine that an 
upright soul is as conscious of making a sacrifice when in such 
a case it sacrifices truth, as when it sacrifices life and health 
for the brethren, and that it suffers in so doing the pain of self 



350 55- Put away Lying, and speak Truth. 

denial • and I would not be the man to cast the first stone upon 
a lie of that description. Only I think that if it were written 
in His Word, " Hereby perceive we the love of God, because 
He laid down truth and righteousness for us ; and we ought to 
lay down truth and righteousness for the brethren," — I repeat, 
were these the words of Scripture, in place of the words of Scrip- 
ture being as they are — " Hereby perceive we the love of God, 
because He laid down His life for us ; and we ought to lay 
down our life for the brethren" * — all would then be well. Inas- 
much, however, as in laying down his life for the brethren He 
laid it down for the truth, I am of opinion that the kind of lie 
of which we speak has no exemplification in Christ the Lord, 
and that truth must be a higher good than health and life 
itself. It is a bad affair when men make of it a funnel ; for 
though the mouth may be little at the first, it will grow larger 
in time. Rather ought it, as I think, to be a ring, which if 
broken in a single place is no longer whole. Lying and cheating 
are nearly related ; and I do not see how it is possible inno- 
cently to lie for the brethren, and not also innocently to cheat 
and steal for them, like the worthy cobbler Crispin, who pur- 
loined the leather of the rich, by whom the loss was unfelt, in 
order to make shoes for the poor. There are many, no doubt, 
who are benevolent and generous at the expense of God ; but 
that they thereby earn His gratitude is greatly to be questioned. 
If, according to His will, we ourselves ought to be ready to 
undergo anything rather than consent to do wrong, ought not 
the same principle to regulate our deportment towards our 
brethren ? Supposing that by a lie I could save the property, 
or wife, or child, or life of a brother, how do I know that under 
all circumstances I would thereby be really doing him good ? 
But that truth is a good in itself I know full well. When the 
venerable Athanasius was fleeing from his persecutors, he was 
overtaken in the desert, and asked if "he was Athanasius." 
He reasoned with himself that the preservation of so noble 
a pillar of truth in the temple of His Church must be of far 

1 i John, iii. x6. 






55« Put away Lying, and speak Truth. 351 

greater consequence to God than the poor and diminutive 
monosyllable yes ; and he answered no. The worthy bishop 
was indeed a pillar in the Lord's temple ; but how did he know 
that the Lord, who, in the words of John the Baptist, " is able 
to raise up children from the stones" had not other pillars at 
His command? Does not history testify aloud that the blood 
of the martyrs has at all times been the richest fertiliser of the soil 
of the Church ? Was not John Huss, that noble witness of the 
truth, likewise a pillar in the temple, and one which the Church 
of the age appeared little able to spare ? And yet was not his 
death a far more effective trumpet-call in behalf of Gospel 
truth than his life could ever possibly have been ? I am con- 
vinced that in the Lord's battles it is better and also more 
pleasing to Him that we should suffer defeat, than that we 
should wield arms upon which He has not pronounced His 
blessing. After all, who knows for certain what in any case is 
best? We are told of a persecutor who once questioned a 
daughter where her father was. She had seen him take refuge 
in a chamber ; but she replied he was in the garden, and into 
that he had just escaped through the chamber- window, and so 
fell into the hands of his pursuers. 

It is no doubt true that persons, both male and female, 
who served and worshipped God, and to whom holy Scripture 
accords a high testimonial for piety, have acted otherwise. 
Abraham did so, when to the kings of Egypt and of Gerar he 
represented Sarah, not as his wife, but as his sister. (It is 
true that she was also his half-sister. 1 ) So did Samuel when 
he went up to Bethlehem to offer sacrifice, but likewise to 
anoint David, and only said that he went up to offer sacrifice. 2 
So did the midwives of Egypt when they rescued the babes of 
Israel t from the wrath of the king. 3 So did Rahab, when, 
prompted by her faith in the true God, she concealed the 
spies. 4 Nay, even Paul did not tell the whole truth when he 
affirmed before the council that it was for preaching the resur- 

1 Gen. xii. 13 ; xx. 5. 2 1 Sam. xvi. 2 et seq. 

3 Exod. i. 19, 20. 4 Heb. xi. 31. 



35 2 55- Put away Lying, and speak Truth. 



rection from the dead that he was arraigned before them. 
But what follows from this ? Among all of women born has 
there ever been more than one who was able to say, " Which 
of you convinceth me of sin?" Was even Paul so great a 
saint as not to need daily to pray, " Forgive us our debts, and 
lead us not into temptation " ? As I have already said, I will 
not be the man to cast a stone at any one who in the hour of 
temptation, and in the interest of his brethren, or even in his 
own, has allowed an untruthful word to escape from his lips. 
He who has not faith to believe that all things must work 
together for good to them that love God, and who does not, 
in obedience to His commandments, unhesitatingly shrink 
from sin more than from any amount of misfortune, — I repeat, 
he who has not such strength of faith has no alternative in the 
hour of temptation save to act as he thinks best, although it 
behoves to be done in ways that are not good. Perhaps it is 
even more advisable, on the whole, not to expect that persons 
so timid and weak in faith will speak the truth at all. If they 
once conceive that it is their duty to take upon themselves to 
govern — although on crooked ways — the course of events, and 
consult for their own and their brethren's good, may we not 
apply to them the text, "Whatsoever is not of faith is sin"? 2 
When to the question, " Art thou the man ? " asked in the face 
of the murderer's dagger, only a feeble and trembling yes is 
heard, in place of the I am of joyful faith, it is perhaps more 
consonant with the whole spiritual condition of such a man to 
utter what his unbelieving timorous heart suggests, and then 
to go into his closet and earnestly pray to God to give him a 
greater measure of faith, for the lack of which there can be no 
excuse. For myself, at least, I would not as confessor torment 
the conscience of one who, on a sick-bed, for instance, was 
guilty of a prevarication. From weakness of faith we every 
day do so much that is wrong, that our only way is humbly 
and penitently to sum it up in the prayer, " Forgive us our 
debts." I would, however, say to him, Dear brother, may the 
1 Acts, xxiii. 6. 2 Rom. xiv. 23. 



h 



55- Put away Lying, and speak Truth. 353 

Lord the God of might vouchsafe to thee such faith as never 
for a moment to doubt that what happens to thee, or to any 
other child of man, when walking in the straight way, is always 
for the best. 

All depends upon acquiring a right taste for truth, and he 
who means to be truthful towards men, must begin by being 
truthful towards God and towards himself. If, in those hours 
in which he presents himself calmly in the divine presence, he 
does not seek to be truthful, and has not learned to cast away 
all those specious reasons, pretexts, and excuses which are the 
false coin of the devil, to that person never will truth be sacred 
in his intercourse with his fellow-men. If we only observe 
how men shrink from appearing face to face, without veil or 
disguise, before the Lord, we will not wonder for a moment 
that in their intercourse with each other they do not lay aside 
the mask. If there be one thing of which I am deeply and 
unalterably convinced, it is, that only in proportion as we are 
sincere towards the Lord our God, will we be also sincere one 
towards another. 



Lord, in all acts and words of Thine 
Did Thy bright soul reflected shine 

As in a mirror's face ; 
And never once did Thy lips part 
But to reveal Thine inmost heart, 

That fount of truth and grace. 
O grant that I may ever be 
Guileless and truthful, still like Thee ; 
That so in all I do may shine 
My inmost heart, as once did Thine. 

For if the fruit of truth I bear, 
And on Thine image bright and fair 

My inward eye I stay, 
All that I do shall well succeed ; 
Thou wilt direct my every deed, 

And ne'er my trust betray. 
Yet who can say or see 
What's best for him to be ? 
So be the issue what it may, 
Childlike Thy Word I will obey. 
Z 



354 56. Be subject unto the higher Powers. 

56. 

Be subject unto tjje Jigger -pofoers. 

That by the grace of God the Lord 

They reign, all kings avow ; 
And in God's name to bear the sword 

Is no small grace, I trow. 

Yet he who wields the sword at will, 

Will sometimes smite awry ; 
And that an upright heart will fill 

With grief and misery. 

So God I thank, who chose for me 

A subject's humbler part, 
And ask for him who king must be, 

Both a stout hand and heart. 

Rom. xiii. i. "Let every soul be subject unto the higher 
powers. For there is no power but of God ; the powers 
that be are ordained of God." 

FAITH in Christ purines and establishes not only hearts, 
but houses and families, and in like manner govern- 
ments and states. Oh, how much more firmly do their crowns 
sit upon the heads of the mighty when upheld by faith than 
when merely by soldiery and police ! How profound and 
worthy of reverence the doctrine respecting the magistracy 
which the Gospel inculcates ! It tells us that " the powers 
that be are ordained of God," and that the magistrate is " His 
minister." And since they have learned to believe the Gospel, 
sovereigns, in compliance with that lesson, have styled them- 
selves, as they still do, " By the grace of God." What title 
more honourable, and at the same time more humble, can there 
be ? By it, no doubt, they boldly avouch that they owe their 
dignity not to the ignoble hand and institution of man, but to 



56. Be subject unto the higher Powers. 355 

the omnipotent hand of the Supreme. At the same time, they 
humbly confess that if their exaltation had depended upon 
their own strength and prudence, they never could have 
achieved it, and that therefore none should arrogate thanks or 
praise to himself, but ascribe these singly and solely to the 
King of kings. Does not this title draw, as it were, a distinc- 
tion betwixt that which a man is of himself and that which 
God has* been pleased to make him? Is it not as if the 
monarch meant thereby to say, I, Frederick, George, or Albert, 
am indeed a man like all the rest of you ; but by the grace of 
God I have been clothed with a robe to which you must pay 
respect, as I myself do, not for my own sake, but for His who 
has put it on me ? It is a beautiful story which is told of the 
Emperor Maximilian, for whose observation some one had 
written upon the wall — 

' ' When Adam delved and Eve span, 
Where was then the gentleman?" 

Beneath it the pious emperor wrote — 

' ' I am a man, as others be ; 
My honours God hath given to me." 

We mean not to affirm that none but monarchs are what they 
are by the grace of God, or that to the grace of God subjects, 
both citizens and peasants, are not equally beholden • for, as 
Luther says, " every rank and condition has something of its 
own to boast of before God," thereby signifying that it has 
been favoured in one shape or another. All we mean to affirm 
is, that divine grace has poured a much richer measure of gifts 
and privileges upon the great and mighty of the earth than 
upon other ranks of men. In fact, rulers have been instituted 
for no less a purpose than in the name of God to exercise justice 
upon the earth. For this end a sword has been put into their 
hand, and they have been gifted with a far larger share of 
power ; because for him whose office it is to protect the inno- 
cent and punish the evil-doer it is not enough that he merely 



356 5 6. Be subject unto the higher Powers. 

hold in one hand the book of the law — he must likewise by all 
means bear the sword in the other. And, according to the 
word of the apostle, such divine authority pertains to every 
magistracy under which a regular government has been estab- 
lished in a nation, and to which men have sworn the oath of 
allegiance. Nor does it make any difference whether the 
magistracy be of thy religious persuasion or not, nor whether 
it have originated lawfully or by violence. If in God's stead 
it sits in judgment against unrighteousness, and maintains 
intact the rights of property among men, and the reign of 
peace and order in cities and private houses, and if thou hast 
sworn fealty and obedience to it in the sight of God, then it is 
thy magistracy, and with its origin, whatever that may have 
been, thou hast nothing to do. God has given it the power, 
and to that power thou hast paid homage. " He is not the 
author of confusion, but of peace," x and they who maintain 
order in families and nations are His officers. For that reason 
St Paul here says, " Let every soul be subject unto the higher 
powers ; " and in like manner St Peter exhorts, — " Submit 
yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord's sake : 
whether it be to the king, as supreme ; or unto governors, as 
unto them that are sent by Him for the punishment of evil- 
doers, and for the praise of them that do well." 2 

Verses 2-4. "Whosoever therefore resisteth the power, re- 
sisteth the ordinance of God : and they that resist shall 
receive to themselves damnation. For rulers are not a 
terror to good works, but to the evil. Wilt thou then not 
be afraid of the power ? Do that which is good, and thou 
shalt have praise of the same : for he is the minister of 
God to thee for good. But if thou do that which is evil, 
be afraid ; for he beareth not the sword in vain : for he is 
the minister of God, a revenger to execute wrath upon 
him that doeth evil." 



1 Cor. xiv. 33. 2 1 Pet. ii. 13, 14. 






56. Be subject unto the higher Powers. 357 

All that, you will say, is well spoken by the apostle, in as 
far as it refers to such a magistracy as is not an object of 
terror to good works, but only to the evil, and is a revenger to 
execute wrath upon the evil-doer. But you will further allege 
that there are many among the powers that be who do the 
very contrary of this, who are a terror to good works, but not 
to the evil, and who bear the sword for the punishment of 
them that do well. Now, beyond all question, the beloved 
apostle was of opinion that when the mighty whom the Lord 
has invested with power do the contrary of that which as 
magistrates they were' appointed to do, the Christian people 
should yet beware of attempting to wrest the sceptre from 
their hand, and should rather follow the apostle Peter's exhor- 
tation to servants, when he says, " Be subject to your masters 
with all fear ; not only to the good and gentle, but also to 
the froward. For this is thankworthy, if a man for conscience 
toward God endure grief, suffering wrongfully. For what 
glory is it, if, when ye be buffeted for your faults, ye shall take 
it patiently ? but if, when ye do well, and suffer for it, ye take 
it patiently, this is acceptable with God. " 1 To the same 
effect the Old Testament admonishes : " My son, fear thou 
the Lord and the king ; and meddle not with them that are 
given to change." 2 Was it not in the reign of that savage 
tyrant Nero that the apostle Paul wrote his doctrine respecting 
the authority of the powers that be ? and was it not by Nero's 
command that he, and likewise St Peter, sealed their faith 
with the blood of martyrdom? and yet, although a Nero did 
then so grimly rage, and both personally and by his deputies 
and officers pervert justice in a thousand cases, did not one 
of his captains testify, "It is not the manner of the Romans 
to deliver any man to die, before that he which is accused 
have the accusers face to face, and have licence to answer for 
himself concerning the crime laid against him"? 3 Even 
under a Nero, therefore, things never came to such a pass 
that the magistracy degenerated into its very opposite, prais- 

1 1 Pet. ii. 18-20. 2 Prov. xxiv. 21. 3 Acts, xxv. 16. 



358 $6. Be subject unto the higher Powers. 

ing and rewarding with office and honour perjurers and thieves 
and defamers, and putting the honest man* to death upon the 
gibbet. So long, then, as a magistrate, though in many a case 
and in many a place he do turn right into wrong, does yet in 
general uphold the distinction between mine and thine — so 
long as the thief and the murderer are punished, and care 
taken of the public weal, wilt thou, for the wrong which may 
be done to thee, and perhaps to many more, — wilt thou, I re- 
peat, because here and there a stone drops out and a rent is 
made in a house which God has built, undertake, at thine own 
risk, to pull it down and set up another in its place ? Surely 
thou wilt rather leave that task to the Architect who built it. 
Believe me, He will not be a quite passive spectator ; and 
although He may not approve of His children putting forth 
their hands, His jailers and hangmen will not be wanting. 
For were there to be a magistracy which wholly forgot the 
function for which it was instituted, it would soon fall into the 
pit which it had dug for others, and be strangled in the snare 
with which it had strangled its subjects. " Wheresoever the 
' carcass is" said our Lord, " there shall the eagles be gathered 
together." And what else but a putrefying carcass would 
a state be in which the magistracy had dropt the reins from 
their grasp and allowed confusion to take the place of order ? 
Although not one Christian should put forth his hand, there 
would not fail to be mobs, and what Luther wrote to the re- 
volted peasantry would take place. " God," he said, " is the . 
enemy of both alike — the tyrants and the mobs — and hounds 
them upon each other that they may both shamefully perish, 
and so His wrath and sentence be executed upon the ungodly." 
" For," as he says in another passage, " He is a master in the 
art of setting one thief to buffet another, without which it 
would be impossible to find halters and gibbets enough for the 
purpose." Although Christian men keep quiet and submit to 
much, there will always be plenty of hot heads in the world, 
who, in the case of a magistracy behaving too badly, will stir 
up riots and do service as a scourge in the hand of God. A 



56. Be subject unto the higher Powers. 359 

pious sovereign said long ago, " Power is like a child, which, 
when not guided by discretion, behaves insolently, and 
stumbles and falls of itself." 

In the self- same strain as the holy apostle did Luther 
also advise, when the peasantry in Swabia were for rising in 
tumult and rebellion. " You allege," he said to them, " that 
the powers that be are too bad to be endured. They will not 
permit us to have the Gospel, and they cruelly oppress us by 
damaging our properties, and so they destroy both soul and 
body. I answer, The wickedness and injustice of the powers 
that be do not excuse riot and insurrection, because to punish 
the wicked belongs to no private person, but to the civil autho- 
rities. It is also a natural and universal law, that nobody 
ought to be or can be judge and avenger in his own cause. 
For there is truth in the proverb that ' he who returns a blow 
does wrong.' And with this the divine law is consonant, 
which says, ' To me belongeth vengeance and recompense' " 1 
Moreover, when his friends complained to him that the rulers 
gave no vigorous support to the Word, nor applied any forc- 
ible check to the Papacy, he warns them against destroying 
the work of God by rioting, and says : " Although it were 
practicable to raise a rebellion, that method is of no use, and 
never brings the amendment which is sought, inasmuch as 
rebellion is without understanding, and usually injures the inno- 
cent more than the guilty. For this reason it is in all cases 
wrong, however right the ground of it may be, and is always 
followed by far greater damage than improvement, verifying 
the proverb that Out of evil comes worse. Besides, it is for- 
bidden by God in express terms, when He says, "That which 
is just shall thou follow justly." 2 Why should not God per- 
mit an intolerable and often unrighteous magistracy to lord 
it over a country, when He permits wicked and unrighteous 
parents to rule their children, and harsh and intolerable hus- 
bands their helpless and unresisting wives? It is expressly 
written in the Book of the Prophet Isaiah, " I 'will give children 
1 Deut. xxxii. 35. 2 Deut. xvi. 20 — Luther's vers. 



360 $6. Be sicbject tmto the higher Powers. 

to be their princes, and babes shall rule over them." x And 
again, "I gave thee a king in mine anger, and took him away in 
my wrath." 2 In this manner God can convert the sovereign 
into the executioner of a people, in order that perchance under 
his strokes they may come to themselves, and in their tribula- 
tion turn to Him who is the supreme King of kings, that He 
may look into the matter and put a stop to the affliction of 
the land. And, in my opinion, an executioner thus appointed 
by the grace of God is generally much more tolerable than when 
peasants, by efforts of their own, rise to become princes, as the 
proverb has so truly said, — 

" A clown, if raised above his sphere, 
Will sharper than a razor shear." 

It is true that even the apostles have emitted a saying from 
which it may be inferred that they did not, at least absolutely, 
disapprove of rebellion.; for the apostle Peter, in company 
with John, declared before the Sanhedrim, " Whether it be 
right in the sight of God to hearken unto you more than unto 
God, judge ye." 3 This saying has oftener than once been 
thrown like a firebrand among the populace, to kindle insur- 
rection and uproar. But did ever Peter or John, or any 
other of our Lord's disciples in the Church, lift an armed hand 
against the Council of Jerusalem ? Only read what they did 
upon the occasion referred to. Yes, they came together, and 
their hands they lifted up, not, however, against the magistrates 
by whom they had been threatened, but to the Lord God of 
heaven and earth, while they prayed this prayer : " And now, 
Lord, behold their threatenings ; and grant unto Thy servants, 
that with all boldness they may speak Thy word." To refuse 
obedience when the powers that be command thee to do some 
ungodly thing, to suffer them to tear thee to pieces rather than 
act contrary to God's express command, is a very different 
thing from lifting hand and sword against them, and inciting 
others to do the same. And to this effect writes Luther as 

1 Isa. iii. 4. 2 Hos. xiii. 11. 3 Acts, iv. 19. 






56. Be subject unto the higher Powers. 361 

follows : " If thy prince or temporal sovereign order thee to be 
friends with the Pope, and to believe this or that doctrine, and 
insist upon your putting away your religious books, you ought 
to say to him, ' Lucifer has no right to sit opposite to God. 
Sire, I am under obligation to obey thee with my life and 
goods — and with any order, within the limit of thy power on 
earth, I will comply ; but I will not obey when thou tellest 
me what to believe and what to reject, for then thou playest 
the tyrant, and intrudest into a sphere where thou hast neither 
right nor power.' If, thereupon, thy prince deprive thee of 
thy property and punish thee for disobedience, blessed art 
thou. Thank God, who counts thee worthy to suffer for His 
holy Word ; but let the prince alone — he is a fool, and will 
not fail to find his judge. But if thou dost not gainsay him, 
and permittest him to rob thee of thy faith or thy books, then 
verily thou hast defrauded God. Let me give an instance. 
In Meisen, Bavaria, and other places, the tyrants have issued 
an order to the people to come and deliver up their New 
Testaments at the public offices. In such a case how ought 
subjects to act? Their duty is not to part with a single page 
or letter, if they would not forfeit their salvation. If orders 
are given to visit their houses, and forcibly to take either their 
property or their books, they ought to submit. In place of 
resisting, they should patiently endure violence; but neither 
sanction, nor serve, nor follow, nor obey it either one foot or 
one finger's breadth." This is what is called passive resistance, 
and in this way a Christian may act as often as his conscience 
bids him. It is what Christ the Lord himself did, of whom it 
is written, that " when He was reviled, He reviled not again ; 
when He suffered, He threatened not ; but committed Himself 
to Him thatjudgeth righteously" Y 

There is another point, however, to which we would direct 

attention. It is, that the apostle has here, for the purpose of 

punishing, put into the hands of the magistracy not merely a 

rod, but a sword, and means thereby to intimate, that when 

1 1 Peter, ii. 23. 



362 5& Be subject unto the higher Powers. 

sin has been carried to its utmost length, to the same length 
punishment both ought to and must proceed, and that in place 
of the prison and the scourge, the magistracy must have 
recourse to the sword and the gibbet. Now there are many 
weak hearts who cannot bear this, as among the early Chris- 
tians there were pious souls who preferred resiling from the 
divinely-appointed office of magistracy with which their fellow- 
citizens wished to invest them, rather than run the risk of hav- 
ing to pronounce sentence of death upon malefactors, an act 
of which, thinking it sinful, they were nervously afraid. And 
although Paul has here, in express terms, armed the magistracy 
with the sword for the punishment of evil-doers — although our 
Lord Himself averred that " All they that take the sword shall 
perish with the sword " Y — although the Old Testament Scrip- 
tures have enjoined, " Whoso sheddeth man's blood, by man 
shall his blood be shed," 2 — these persons chose rather to ex- 
pound such texts in a non-natural sense than to deprive a 
human being of life; and for the same reason denounced war 
as a work absolutely displeasing to God. Now, without doubt, 
it is an unspeakably great calamity that there are men walking 
the earth who are not afraid to shed the blood of another made 
like themselves after the image of God, and who do not scruple, 
with arms in their hands, to rob brethren of their properties 
and hunt them out of house and home. Inasmuch, however, 
as there are those who dare to perpetrate such crimes, it is 
certain that a Christian magistrate ought not to be afraid to 
make them feel the sharpness of the sword. Having been ap- 
pointed by God as His minister to execute justice, he is bound 
to retaliate ; and if he do it at all, he must have the power of 
inflicting such punishment as he certainly knows will have the 
effect of clearly manifesting the retaliation in the sight of men, 
and imprinting it upon their consciences. 

Moreover, as by their police and officers of law the ruling 
powers dispense retribution to their own subjects, so by their 
military they do the same to other powers by whom their sub- 
1 Matt. xxvi. 52. 2 Gen. ix. 6. 



56. Be subject unto the higher Power's. 363 

jects are violently assailed. In this there is no kind of anger, 
revenge, or inward enmity, because the very reason why God 
has taken the right to punish out of the hand of private indivi- 
duals is, that these might have either too little power or too 
much blind passion for the purpose — and has committed it 
into the hands of magistrates, who ought to punish impartially 
and according to that which is right in the eyes of God. To 
this effect Luther writes as follows : " Whoever is appointed to 
exercise the civil government, is under command to resent and 
punish and kill wherever anything that is wrong and worthy of 
death has been committed by the subjects. In the same man- 
ner are the father and mother in a family specially enjoined by 
God not to laugh at the transgressions of their children and 
domestics, but to reprove and scrupulously punish them. God 
commands them to do so ; and when they leave it undone, 
they disobey and act contrary to their office and instructions. 
For this reason we are not to understand that a thief should 
say to his judge, ' Don't hang me ; for in the sixth command- 
ment it is written, Thou shalt not kill.' He may say that to 
his equal who is not in office, but not to magistrates who are 
commanded to use the sword for the prevention of evil. In 
like manner it would never do for a maid in a family, when 
guilty of waste, negligence, or sloth, to say to her mistress, 
' Dear lady, you are a Christian ; remember the sixth com- 
mandment, and don't scold me, for that is forbidden, and 
Christ says, Whosoever is angry with his brother is in danger 
of the judgment.' No, my girl, God has here enjoined a very 
different thing; you are a servant, and bound diligently to 
attend to the duties of your office, and to do as you are bid. 
If you refuse, it behoves your mistress not to recompense and 
praise, but to correct you. And this has been devolved by 
God as a duty, not merely upon masters and mistresses in the 
family, but also upon magistrates in the civil government. 
And such ' wrath ' as we have described unchristianises them 
just as little as does their office and vocation. They would, 
however, cease to be Christians were they to relinquish their 



364 5 6- Be subject unto the higher Powers. 

office, drop the reins of government, whether in the family or 
the state, and idly look on while the children and domestics 
ruled the house, or the subjects did evil at their pleasure." 

Again he says, in another passage, " You ask whether it be 
lawful for a Christian to wield the temporal sword and punish 
evil-doers, seeing that Christ has so plainly and peremptorily 
told us not to resist evil that the sophists have thought them- 
selves obliged to make a maxim of it ? I answer thus, You 
have two things inculcated — one, that among real Christians 
the sword can have no place, and therefore you cannot wield 
it either over or yet among them, because it is not needed. 
For that reason you must transfer your question elsewhere to 
the great mass who are not Christians, and ask, Can you as a 
Christian use it there ? The other thing inculcated is, that 
you are bound to be serviceable to the sword, and help it in 
every way you can with your body and soul, your wealth and 
credit, because, although this be a work of which you yourself 
have no need, it is of the utmost use and necessity to the world 
at large and to thy neighbour. Accordingly, if thou see that 
there is a lack of hangmen, constables, judges, magistrates, and 
princes, and find thyself competent for any such employment, 
it is thy duty to undertake and apply for it, in order that the 
necessary power may not be despised, nor wax feeble and 
perish, for the world neither can nor will perform such service 
with success. Thy inducement should be that, in this case, 
thou enterest upon a wholly foreign service and labour which 
is of no benefit to thyself, either as regards fortune or honour, 
but is beneficial to thy neighbour and other men, and that thou 
undertakest it for that reason, and without any view of aveng- 
ing thyself or recompensing evil for evil. So far as thou thyself 
art concerned, thou adherest to the Gospel and compliest with 
the Word of Christ, turning to him who smites thee on the one 
cheek the other also, and allowing him who has taken away 
thy cloak to take also thy coat, wherever thou and thine own 
interest only are concerned. In this way the two things agree 
nicely with each other : thou satisfiest at once the kingdom of 



56. Be subject unto the higher Powers. 365 

God and the kingdom of the world, and that both inwardly 
and outwardly — submitting to evil and injustice, and at 
the same time punishing both; resisting, and at the same 
time not resisting, evil ; for in the one case thou lookest to 
thyself and to thine own things, and in the other to thy 
neighbour and to his things. In this way have all the saints, 
from the beginning of the world, wielded the sword — Adam 
and his whole posterity. So did Abraham wield it when he 
rescued Lot, his brother's son, and smote the four kings, 1 
although he was in every respect an evangelical man. So, too, 
did the holy prophet Samuel when he slew Agag ; 2 and so did 
Elijah, when he put to death the prophets of Baal. 3 In the 
same way the sword was wielded by Moses and Joshua, and 
the children of Israel, Samson, David, and all the kings and 
princes of the Old Testament ; and the same may be said of 
Daniel and his companions Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah 
at Babylon, and likewise Joseph in Egypt ; and so on. Were 
any one, however, to allege that the Old Testament has 
been abrogated, and is no longer of any force, and therefore 
that such examples may not be set up for Christians to imitate, 
I answer that such is not the case, and that we can also prove 
our point by the New Testament. John the Baptist^ is there 
a notable instance, for without doubt it behoved him to testify 
and show forth and teach concerning Christ. In other words, 
it behoved his doctrine to be purely evangelical, inasmuch as 
he was commissioned to prepare for the Lord a righteous and 
obedient people. Now this same John sanctions the office of 
soldiers, telling them to be content with their wages ; whereas, if 
it had been unchristian to wield the sword, he would have 
reproved them for doing so, and ordered thern to cast away 
both it and their pay, otherwise he would not have rightly 
instructed them in the requirements of Christianity. St Peter 
also, when he preached Christ to Cornelius? did not tell him 
to resign his commission, which he ought to have done, sup- 

1 Gen. xiv. 14, 15. 2 1 Sam. xv. 33. 3 1 Kings, xviii. 40. 

4 Luke, iii. 14. 5 Acts, x. 34. 



366 56. Be subject unto the higher Powers. 

posing it had been any hindrance to his status as a Christian. 
Moreover, it was before Cornelius was baptised that the Holy 
Ghost came upon him ; and even before the discourse of St 
Peter that St Luke praises him as a righteous man, and does 
not blame him for being the captain of soldiers in the pay of a 
heathen emperor. , We have a similar example in the Ethiopian 
eunuch?- whom the evangelist Philip converted and baptised, 
permitting him to retain his office and to return home. And 
yet, without the power of the sword, the eunuch could not have 
been so efficient an officer to his queen. The same was like- 
wise the case with Paulus Sergius, 2 the deputy in Cyprus, whom 
Paul converted, and yet allowed to retain his military command 
over the heathen. The same was done by many holy martyrs 
who were obedient to the emperors at Rome, went to war 
under them, and doubtless also slew many in order to maintain 
peace, as is related of St Maurice, Achatius, Gereon, and 
many more under the Emperor Julian. But, over and above, 
here lies a clear and strong text of St Paul, 3 who says, ' The powers 
that be are ordained of God ;' likewise that the ruler beareth not 
the sword in vain, but is God's minister, an ave?iger to execute 
wrath upon him who doeth evil.' My friend, be not so impious 
as to say that a Christian ought not to engage in what is 
essentially a work commanded and instituted by God ; for 
then must thou also affirm that a Christian should not eat and 
drink nor marry a wife. That is equally God's work and 
ordinance ; and if it be so, then it is good : and it is also good 
that a man use it in a Christian way, and for his salvation, 
according to the saying of St Paul, ' Every creature of God is 
good, and nothing to be refused by those who believe and 
know the truth.' 4 Among the things which God hath created 
you must not include merely meat and drink, and clothes and 
shoes, but also magistracy and subjection, protection and 
punishment ; and to sum up all, seeing that St Paul here tells 
us that the ruling power is the minister of God, it must not be 
left to the heathen alone, but exercised by all men. When it 
1 Acts, viii. 39. 2 Acts, xiii. 7, 12. 3 Rom. xiii. 1. 4 1 Tim. iv. 4.' 



56. Be subject unto the higher Powers. 367 

is said that it is the minister of God, what else is meant but 
that it is by nature of a kind capable of being used in His 
service ? It would be a very unchristian style of speech were 
we to affirm that there was any way of serving God which a 
Christian man could not, or ought not to adopt, seeing that the 
service of God is proper for no one so much as for a Christian ; 
and it were a happy and a needful thing if all princes were 
really good Christians — for to such, in preference to all other 
persons in the world, do the use of the sword and the exercise 
of power belong as a peculiar divine worship. And thus it 
stands indisputably firm and beyond all misapprehension that, 

For God's own word and Fatherland, 
'Tis right to take the sword in hand." 

Verse 5. " Wherefore ye must needs be subject, not only 
for wrath, but also for conscience' sake." 

Inasmuch as the magistracy has been deemed worthy by 
God Himself of so high a vocation — inasmuch as they have 
not taken to themselves the sword, but have had it put into 
their hand by Almighty God, it is the more needful, for con- 
science' sake, to be subject to them. If thou wert subject to a 
robber who had unexpectedly got thee into his power, and 
shouldst obey his commands, thou wouldst do so from the 
mere fear of punishment, for into his hands Almighty God 
has not put the sword ; nor is it in the service of divine justice 
that he wields it. If, however, thou permittest thy property 
to be taken by an unrighteous magistracy without lifting thy 
hand, thou doest it in the same way as a child submits to 
many an injustice on the part of his father when angry, and 
submits for this reason, that God hath given to his father a 
father's authority. And as Paul here requires us to be subject 
for conscience' sake, so does St Peter likewise exhort, 
" Submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord's 
sake." 1 

1 1 Peter, ii. 13. 



368 $6. Be subject unto the higher Powers. 

Verses 6, 7. " For this cause pay ye tribute also : for they 
are God's ministers, attending continually upon this very 
thing. Render therefore to all their dues : tribute to 
whom tribute is due ; custom to whom custom ; fear to 
whom fear ; honour to whom honour." 

This is the lesson which Christ the Lord also taught when 
He looked upon the penny imprinted with the emperor's im- 
age and said, " Render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar's, 
and unto God the things that are God's." 1 And the drift of 
His words was this : The bit of metal on which the emperor 
has caused his image to be stamped testifies thereby that it is 
the emperor's, and may be given back to him : but a totally 
different image — the image of Almighty God — has been im- 
printed upon the human heart ; and testifying as that does 
that it belongs exclusively to Him, the human heart is subject 
to no other power, and must serve Him alone. 

Oh how cheerfully will a faithful subject pay tribute and 
custom to the ruling powers when he reflects on all the care 
and watching which they must endure for him ! And not 
only so, but he ought also to reflect that proportionally to their 
lack of care and watching will one day be the severity of the 
punishment which they shall suffer, for unto whomsoever much 
is given, of him shall much be required. By thoughts like these 
the heart of subjects will no doubt be reverently and affec- 
tionately inclined towards the magistracy ; and if not, then 
surely by a regard to their own interest, when they reflect how 
unspeakably great are the benefits they enjoy under an upright 
and judicious magistracy, as Luther writes in his Catechism, 
" It is above all things necessary that we should pray for civil 
magistrates and rulers, seeing that it is by them that God pro- 
vides for the continuance of our daily bread and all our com- 
fort in this life. For although we have received from Him all 
manner of good things in abundance, yet none of them can 
we keep, or safely and cheerfully use, unless He give us also a 

1 Matt. xxii. 21. 



56. Be subject unto the higher Powers. 369 

steadfast and quiet government; because when there is dis- 
peace, enmity, and war, our daily bread is taken away or 
wholly withheld. For this reason it would be a proper thing 
to set a loaf as an ensign upon the escutcheon of every pious 
sovereign, or to stamp it as a figure upon his money, in order 
to remind both sovereigns and subjects that it is through their 
office that we enjoy both protection and peace, and that with- 
out these we could neither enjoy, obtain, nor continue to 
possess daily bread ! " 

Yes, verily, ye princes of the earth ! whoever considers how 
great and important is the trust committed to your hands, 
must needs heartily pray for you. And what is the boon that 
I ought to supplicate on your behalf? I would fain ask 
nothing more than that the Holy Spirit would give you fully to 
comprehend what the words, By the grace of God, which your 
hand so often indites, really signify. Then would all be well. 
This would make you little and it would make you great. It 
would give you an eye turned upwards to supplicate, and an 
eye turned downwards to bless. It would give you a kingly 
heart, serious and gentle, like that of the King of kings, by 
whom you have been enthroned. 

Thou King of kings, on whose dread sceptre grow, 
As shoots, the sceptres of all kings below, 
The proud ones who their sovereign's rights disdain, 
Curb and restrain. 

Honour to rnonarchs ! We shall be what they 
Now are, and on the earth made new one day, 
Of higher dignities than here are theirs, 
Shall all be heirs. 

If he with justice gird his loins, and sway 
His sceptre for the public weal alway, 
Down at the monarch's feet submissive fall 
His brethren all. 

Not to the throned and sceptred mortal bends 
Their knee, but to the Infinite, who sends, 
To guard the rights of His eternal crown, 
His servant down. 

2 A 



370 57- Let every Man abide in his Callmg. 

Lord, on his heart, the elected of his race, 
As with an iron pen this lesson trace, 
That Thine the crowns, and Thine the wholesome dread 
By sceptres bred. 

Unite again the Shepherd and the sheep ; 
Rule Thou the rulers, and from evil keep ; 
To melt all hearts, and all in one to blend, 
Thy Spirit send. 



57. 

3Let eforrj JHan afcftre in jjts Callmg. 

A chamber may be mean and poor, 
Btit if adorned with furniture 
Selected with judicious taste, 
The owner will not be disgraced. 
And even so the humblest trade 
Is high and honourable made 
When all from LOVE to God is do?ie, 
And at His glory aimed alone. 

Gen. i. 27, 28. " God created man in His own image, in 

the image of God created He him And 

said, Replenish the earth, and subdue it; and have 
dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of 
the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the 
earth." 

1 Cor. vii. 20. " Let every man abide in the same calling 
wherein he was called." 

Ecclus. xlii. 24, 25. "All things are double, one against 
another, and He hath made nothing imperfect. One 
thing establisheth the good of another, and who shall be 
filled with beholding His glory." 

Eccles. vi. 7. " All the labour of man is for his mouth, 
and yet the appetite is not filled." 



57- Let every Man abide in his Calling. 37 1 

MY God and Father, give me wisdom, that I may learn 
more and more how to conduct myself, even in my 
temporal calling, so as to please Thee. There are many to 
whom it is one of the hardest points in Christianity to abide 
in the right path. When I first began seriously to reflect what 
were the requirements of my profession, a voice whispered in 
my ear, " They that will be rich fall into temptation and a 
snare." 1 And even when I said to myself, it is not because 
I wish to be rich that I labour, the voice rejoined, " One thing 
is needful, and Mary hath chosen that good part." If I then 
for a little let my business go its own way, another monitor 
addressed me saying, " Ought he who has once been called to a 
profession to withdraw his shoulder from the yoke ? " Upon 
this subject I have pondered long, and find that a man's sta- 
tion and calling may be looked upon in a threefold aspect. 

In the Romish Church the notion has sometimes been en- 
tertained that the laity are identical with the world, and that 
none but the ecclesiastical order are dear children of God. 
Nor are the instances few of kings and princes on the eve of 
their decease putting on the monkish habit, as if it were an 
Elijah's mantle in which they could fly direct to heaven. 
Luther tells us of a picture he had seen, in which there was 
a ship called The Holy Catholic Church, and embarked in it 
were the Pope and his clergy, but not a single layman, not 
even a prince or a king. These were represented swimming 
about in the water, and were merely drawn towards the ship 
by cords and ropes thrown out to them by the holy fathers. 
Wherever such an error actually prevailed, what unhallowed 
confusion and bitter misery it must necessarily have produced ! 
Let it once be forgotten that man is a plant which no doubt 
stretches its top towards heaven, but which must at the same 
time remain fixed by its roots to the earth, and then even the 
clergy might come at last to fancy that they were no longer 
a sufficiently sacred order, and all mankind might long to put 
on the monkish cowl. That the laity, however, are by no 

1 1 Tim. vi. 9. 



372 57- Let every Man abide in his Calling. 

means so low and contemptible a class, may be inferred from 
the fact that long after the holy apostles became fishers of men, 
they continued, at least occasionally, 1 to follow the fisher's 
trade ; and that St Paul was not ashamed of being a weaver 
of carpets as well as a preacher of the Gospel. It would also 
appear that the first teachers of the Christian Church were far 
from considering the exercise of a handicraft beneath their 
dignity ; for all to which the apostle exhorts them is that their 
trades should not be disreputable? It is even credible that, 
as the people called Him " the Carpenter" 3 our Lord Him- 
self did not in His youth disdain to practise that handicraft. 
To this effect Luther relates the following story : " A certain 
bishop was curious to know how Jesus used to employ Him- 
self when a youth ; and to him a dream was vouchsafed, in 
which he saw a little boy gathering chips and shavings of 
wood, and at the hour of dinner calling his father to table, 
and asking his mother, ' Shall I also bid the other man come?' 
at which the bishop was frightened 'and awoke." I myself 
believe that in His boyhood the little Jesus, like any other 
dutiful child, helped His mother in her domestic labours, and 
was sometimes sent to the well for water — nay, perhaps some- 
times to the shop for wine ; and this may have been the reason 
why, at the marriage in Cana, where the supply of it was in- 
sufficient, His mother applied to Him as on former occasions 
she had often done. There is another story in the lives of 
the old fathers, and about the time when they began to look 
upon the habit of a monk or hermit as a certain passport to 
the heavenly Jerusalem, which teaches in an admirable way 
that the Christian whose lot in life is to wield the awl and 
bodkin is held by the Lord in far higher esteem than the 
shaveling or the capuchin. The story runs thus : One day while 
St Anthony was praying in his cell, he heard a voice saying, 
" Anthony, in spite of the austerity of thy life, thou art not 
worthy of being compared to the cobbler of Alexandria." On 

1 John, i. 42; Luke, v. 1 ; John, xxi. 1. 

2 1 Tim. iii. 3 ; Titus, 1.7. 3 Mark, vi. 3. 



5/. Let every Man abide in his Calling. 373 

hearing this the saint rose early in the morning, took staff in 
hand, and set off in great haste for the city. There he pre- 
sented himself to the cobbler to whom the voice referred, but 
who was overcome with terror when so great and eminent 
a saint appeared before him. " Come tell me, friend," said 
Anthony, " what are the good works which you are in use to 
perform, for it is on thy account that I have left my cell and 
travelled the long way from the desert ? " To this the cobbler 
replied, " I know of no good work which I have performed, 
save that in the morning when I leave my bedchamber I say 
to myself, ' All the people of this city, both small and great, 
will be admitted into the kingdom of heaven, for they are 
more righteous than I ; and well should I deserve eternal 
punishment on account of my sins if I did not believe that 
through the mercy of my God I shall be saved.' These same 
words I also repeat from the bottom of my heart at night 
before I lay me down to rest." On hearing this St Anthony 
exclaimed, " Verily, my son, you sit at home, and, like a skil- 
ful master, attain at your ease to the kingdom of heaven; 
whereas I, who have spent my life and endured many toils 
and dangers in the desert, have not yet arrived at such pro- 
ficiency that I can compare the life I lead with that which 
you have now described." 

Again, there are others who do not, indeed, despise the 
temporal occupation to which the Lord has called them, but 
who regard it merely as a wholesome penance, just as some 
ambitious man might do the task, if such were allotted to him, 
of splitting a heap of firewood, and in whose opinion there 
is no trade or business upon earth which it is worth a man's 
while even to touch with his finger save that of saving the 
soul. Now no doubt the son of Sirach has said, " A yoke 
and a collar doth bow the neck, so are tortures and torments 
for an evil servant ; " 1 and quite true it is that we are one and 
all of us evil servants, and that many trades do make the evil 
servant feel the yoke and rod to be very heavy. This, how- 

1 Ecclus. xxxiii. 26. 



*374 57- Let every Man abide in his Calling. 

ever, is by no means the case with every trade. On the con- 
trary, many of the common arts and handicrafts are capable 
of being used for some better purpose than that for which 
a clog is tied to the neck of an evil servant. What profitable 
service have some of the fine arts rendered to religion ! Is it 
not a beautiful testimony which Luther gives to music when 
he says : " Music is half a preceptress and teacher of morals, 
for it makes people more gentle and patient, well-bred, and 
intelligent. He who despises music, as all fanatics do, is one 
of whom I cannot think well ; for it is a gift and benefit from 
God, and not a thing for which we are indebted to man. It 
drives out the devil and promotes hilarity ; while listening to 
it we forget wrath, incontinence, and other vices. Next to 
theology I pay the highest honour to music" ? Ought we not 
also to vouchsafe equal praise to painting, engraving, archi- 
tecture, and many other arts, which may be made subservient 
in so delightful a way to the glory of God ? Nay, shall not 
some measure of such arts in a different fashion than is here 
in use among men find a place in the blessed kingdom of 
heaven ? for there, as the Apocalypse of St John informs us, 
the harps shall sound far more sweetly than on earth in hymns 
of praise to God. 1 To the same effect is the following inci- 
dent related to us respecting Luther: In the year 1538, and 
on the 17th day of September, he entertained the singers in 
his choir, and after hearing them execute several charming 
motets, expressed his admiration in these words, — " Seeing 
that the Lord our God has shed down into this present life — 
which is but a dunghill — such noble gifts, and endowed us 
with them, what will He not do in the life eternal, where all, 
of which we have here the bare rudiments, shall have attained 
to the highest and most delectable perfection ? " 

And if the higher arts are hallowed by the service which 

they render to the sanctuary, why not likewise every trade 

which is required for the same purpose? It is not merely 

architects and painters that are needed for the building of 

1 Rev. xiv. 2. 



57- Let every Man abide in his Calling. 375 

a church, but carpenters and smiths, and other kinds of work- 
men. To this effect Moses says of the skilful artisans who 
were employed in the construction of the tabernacle: "See, 
the Lord hath called by name Bezaleel the son of Uri, the son 
of Hur, of the tribe of Judah ; and He hath filled him with the 
Spirit of God, in wisdom, in understanding, and in knowledge, 
and in all manner of workmanship; and to devise curious 
works, to work in gold, and in silver, and in brass, and in the 
cutting of stones, to set them, and in carving of wood, to make 
any manner of cunning work. And He hath put in his heart 
that he may teach, both he, and Aholiab the son of Ahisa- 
mach. Them hath He filled with wisdom of heart, to work 
all manner of work, of the engraver, and of the cunning work- 
man, and of the embroiderer, in blue, and in purple, in scarlet, 
and in fine linen, and of the weaver, even of them that do any 
work, and of those that devise cunning work." 1 According, 
therefore, to the doctrine of this passage, the Spirit of God is 
the Giver, even when the gift consists of insight and practical 
skill in the arts ; and how can the gift of such a Giver be 
cheaply rated, or looked upon merely as a burden and a toil ? 
Much more does it reveal to us the presence in man of that 
divine breath which elevates him above the brutes. Many 
who have visited the settlements of the Moravians, and seen 
their streets and gardens, but especially their graveyards, must 
have felt how the breath of God, when it is in men's hearts, 
can communicate itself to their houses, offices, and grounds, 
and shed over them a tranquil calm. And if the peace of 
God within us reflects itself in the flesh of the countenance, 
and there takes a visible shape, why not also in a man's handi- 
work — in the plan of his house and the laying out of his 
garden? Nay, are»not even habits of order and cleanliness 
a mirror of his soul, and equally so the soundness, durability, 
and elegance of any article which he manufactures ? A trade 
and a calling, therefore, are something more than the bit and 
bridle in the mouth of a horse, or the yoke upon the neck of 
1 Exod. xxxv. 30-35. 



376 57- Let every Man abide in his Calling. 

an ox, and must be designed for some better purpose than 
merely to tame the old Adam. 

I am of opinion that they are right who affirm that divine 
wisdom has ordained the trades and professions of this earth 
for three wise purposes. In the first place, that craftsmen and 
artists may devise ever more and more beautiful and perfect 
forms with which to invest matter to the glory of God, who 
has endowed the spirit of man with such skill and knowledge ; 
secondly, to exercise our brotherly love in making life more 
pleasing and delightful, inasmuch as in such matters we must 
be mutually beholden to each other ; and finally, for the fur- 
therance and accomplishment, as far as practicable, of wise 
and pious designs both in civil life and in the Church, whether 
tending to the welfare of the body or to that of the soul. 

When I regard the subject in this light, it appears to me to 
be the duty of all men, whatever be their trade or calling, to 
lay out their intelligence and skill to the best advantage, in 
order that each may perfect himself in his particular line ; and 
this, as would be easy to show, may be done not only without 
pride and worldly-mindedness, but, on the contrary, from love 
to God and the brethren, and a regard to the public good. The 
lovelier the shape which a craftsman can give to his handi- 
work, and the more beautiful and ingenious the creations of 
the artist's skill, so much the more abundant is the praise 
which accrues to the Spirit from on high, from whom all good 
gifts, and this among the rest, come down. As Luther once 
said in commendation of his musician, Master Sanftel : " Such 
a motet I could not make though I were to be torn limb from 
limb ; just as, on the other hand, neither could he expound 
a psahn as well as I ; and so the gifts of the Spirit are mani- 
fold, just as are the members of the body." 

The better and more serviceable the articles are which one 
Christian furnishes to another, — the wholesomer the bread 
which the baker bakes— the more firmly the architect lays the 
foundation of the house which he builds — the more expedi- 
tiously and largely the merchant procures the commodities of 



57. Let every Man abide in his Calling. 377 

other countries for the use and benefit of his own, — the more 
in such external services will a regard for the welfare and a de- 
sire in all respects to consult the interests of his brother, be 
manifested. In fine, the* more skilful a man becomes in dig- 
ging wells, making roads, improving land, governing a town 
or managing its revenue, the better will such Christian wisdom 
qualify him to promote the public welfare • and if all this spring 
from a desire to serve God and his neighbour, his daily work 
will be a work of Christian charity, and he will no longer 
require to wait for special and select occasions to exercise that 
virtue. Luther has said that a married wife ought to be con- 
vinced that, in her position, the suckling of her babe and the 
tending of her children are as certainly acceptable to God as 
if He had spoken to her, and expressly commanded her to do 
it. In like manner, the servant-girl who sweeps the house, 
boils the pot, and feeds the cattle, ought to be firmly persuaded 
in her mind that she is walking according to the divine com- 
mandment, if in these things she faithfully executes the orders 
she has received. And thus ought all ranks of men to cherish 
the confidence that it is God who has allotted to them their 
several trades and occupations, and to be contented each 
with his own, however bad it may be. In that case faith 
would place all of them upon a level, for God pays no regard 
to whether thine be mean or noble, but only to whether thou 
art satisfied with it, and acceptest it as allotted to thee by Him. 

It often happens that Christian souls find it very hard to 
reconcile their hearts to their vocation • and the reason, no 
doubt, is, because their vocation runs side by side with their 
faith, charity, and hope, instead of issuing out of them. It 
then for certain becomes a species of idolatry. 

A man's vocation, however, and especially his handicraft, 
even if that be of the humblest sort, may and ought to be a 
priestly ministry. In creating him, God made man after His 
own image, and thereby appointed him to have dominion over 
the earth. 1 And is it not an exercise of this dominion when 
1 Gen. i. 26. 



378 57- Let every Man abide in his Calling. 

the eye of intelligence penetrates with ever-growing insight into 
all that the earth produces on its surface or hides in its depths ? 
When the resistance of matter is overcome \ when the elements 
are subjugated ; when the products and commodities of distant 
countries are brought together and exchanged, or made sub- 
servient to spiritual purposes and designs ; when spirit operates 
and puts its impress upon them ; and when, to crown all, that 
spirit subjects itself in everything to the guidance of the Lord, 
so that all is done in humility, according to the pattern of the 
divine purposes, under the incitement of divine love, and to 
the glory of Him to whom alone all glory belongs, the God 
" from whom cometh down every good and perfect gift," — in 
order to this result, the labourer and hireling are as indispens- 
able in their place as the philosopher and the artist. 

Oh how soon would Christianity come into good repute were 
it found that in every town the Christian tailors were the 
cleverest and most industrious, the Christian watchmakers the 
most ingenious and skilful, the Christian servants the most 
faithful and attentive, the Christian painters and musicians the 
most proficient, the Christian functionaries the most active 
and intelligent, — and so in every other line ! ' It is true that 
such sedulous endeavours after proficiency in our secular em- 
ployments are not unconnected with danger ; but the proverb 

truly says — 

" Learn to look danger in the face, 
Or at the fireside keep your place." 

Let us, then, breathe a pious prayer and set vigorously to 
work, remembering that he who journeys at God's command has 
God also for his guide. Besides, would there be no danger 
wert thou to imprison thyself with monks in a cloister, and do 
nothing but sing psalms ? No, this point I will firmly main- 
tain, that if we have had a real call to our profession, we may 
go forward in it with full confidence that we are in the ways of 
God. 

I have often, and with my whole heart, wished to know how 
much of the business and toil of the present life will be trans- 



57. Let every Man abide in his Calling. 379 

lated with us into the new heaven and new earth. A great 
man 1 has said that " all we have learned in this world will be 
of no more use to us when we depart out of it than the names 
of the streets of London." I do not know, however, if that be 
true. It may well be that we think too meanly of the earthly 
creatures, as of all sublunary things ; and that when the dead 
shall rise, much of the business and employments which they 
followed here below will rise along with them, and take a 
nobler shape. Nay, might it not be said that, were the sweat 
wiped from the brow and sin extirpated from the 3 heart, the 
work of earth might be a work of heaven ? The more we con- 
template them from this point of view, the higher the notion 
we will be ready to entertain of our pastimes here below. But 
for the present I agree with Luther, who said, that when he 
hung as a suckling on his mother's breast, little did he know 
what he was afterwards to eat or drink, or what manner of life 
he would lead \ and far less do we understand how all that 
will be in the world to come. In this matter I will patiently 
wait, like the children on Christmas Eve, who with hearts full 
of confidence and hope stand behind the door until the time 
comes for it to be opened, and the tree with its hundred lights, 
and all the appendages about and upon it, bursts upon their 
eye and fully satisfies their heart ; meanwhile I will give heed 
to the apostle's advice, and "use this life as not abusing it.' ; 
Alas! 

Guests of a day on earth, we here 
Like fools attempt strongholds to rear, 
But take no pains to build a home, 
In the eternal world to come. 

Oh teach me to live without abusing life ! 

Yes, help me, Lord, from day to day 

The appointed work to do, 
And serve Thee, while on earth I stay, 

With childlike heart and true. 



1 Leibnitz. 



380 5 8. Be faithful in that which is least. 

I hear so many asking still, 

Why must I so and so ? 
But when Thou sayst, "Such is my will" 

'Tis all I want to know. 
True ! many a task prescribed by Thee 

A feeble child might do ; 
But, therefore, 'tis more fit for me, 

For I am feeble too. 

And yet, however frail the shoot, 

If from true love it grow, 
The virtue of that holy root 

Its flower and fruit will show. 

Does ought unlovely anywhere 

In nature meet the eye, 
When of the love of God we there 

The signature descry ? 
And even the work which here below 

My feeble hand achieves, 
If from the same pure fount it flow, 

Thy gracious smile receives. 
And when at last the seed love sowed 

On earth bears fruit above, 
Far nobler work will be assigned 

In those bright realms to love. 



58. 

fattfjfttl in tfjat frijjtdj is least, 

Bestir thy hands, 
And any trade 
Will earn thee bread — 
Not all that greed, 
But what thy need, 
Each day demands. 
Let then to toil 
On earth the while 
Thy HAND be given ; 
But far apart 
Make for thy HEART 
A home in heaven. 



58. Be faithful in that which is least. 381 

Psalm cxxviii. 1,2. " Blessed is every one that feareth 
the Lord ; that walketh in His ways. For thou shalt eat 
the labour of thine hands : happy shalt thou be, and it 
shall be well with thee." 

Luke, xvi. 10. " He that is faithful in that which is least, 
is faithful also in much; and he that is unjust in the least, 
is unjust also in much." 

LORD, they who are Thy children are of a rank far too 
lofty to need to feel anxious about their daily bread. 
All the burden of such care I cast upon Thee, as Thou thyself 
hast commanded me to do, and now therefore the matter is in 
Thy hands. 1 Thou wilt not permit that I should be put to 
shame before mine adversaries, or that they should have cause 
to say, See how the Lord rewardeth His servants ! Never wilt 
Thou permit them to open their mouth against me, and cry, 
"Aha, aha ! our eye hath seen it." 2 Such was the confident 
hope of David, and it is also mine ; and if, O mighty God, 
Thou hast in mercy connected Thine honour with the cause 
of Thy poor servants, surely it would be on our side a grievous 
sin, were we to fail to do our part, and thereby put Thine 
honour to hazard. And yet that sin we commit, when all we 
do is to look up to the clouds, and expect them to pour down 
rain and sunshine upon us, while we pay no attention to the 
spade and the plough, which here on earth Thou hast put into 
our hands. Wise were the men of former days when they said, 
All depends on God's blessing ; but no less wisely did they 
say that God helps those who use their hands. They said, 
moreover, He gives us the ox, but not a hold of it by the 
horns — meaning that we must exert ourselves in order to sub- 
ject it to our power. Hence, in the household of God the 
general maxim is, Pray as if thou didst not labour, and laboitr 
as if thou didst not pray. To carry on both simultaneously is a 
difficult task for a being so changeable as man ; because, when 
prayer is lively, labour grows languid, and when prayer is 

1 Psalm lv. 22 : i Pet. v. 7. 2 Psalm xxxv. 21. 



382 5^. Be faithful in that which is least. 

languid, labour becomes lively. The human heart revolves 
like a wheel, of which one spoke goes down as another goes up. 

It is enough to break one's heart to see a man made after 
the divine image, and still more if he be a father, calling aloud 
for bread to himself and his children, and willing to do his 
part by labouring for it ; but who, notwithstanding, fails to find 
it, because he can find nothing to do. At such a spectacle the 
weak in faith stumble and lose confidence in God, who of old 
time said, " Call upon me in the day of trouble ; I will deliver 
thee, and thou shalt glorify me." 1 But may we not be per- 
mitted to question whether instances of this really occur, and 
whether it ever happened that any man who had all his life 
long been industrious and willing to earn his bread by the 
sweat of his brow, actually died of hunger? That it never 
did, is a bold statement to make ; but what emboldens me to 
make it is, that one far greater than I has made it before me : 
for thus spake King David, — " I have been young, and now 
am old, yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his 
seed begging bread." 2 

Any exception to this rule, I have always found, might be 
accounted for as follows : Either it happened according to the 
Preacher's description, " I went by the field of the slothful, 
and by the vineyard of the man void of understanding ; and, 
lo, it was all grown over with thorns, and nettles had covered 
the face thereof, and the stone wall thereof was broken down : " 
" Yet a little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands 
to sleep : so shall thy poverty come as one that travelleth, and 
thy want as an armed man." 3 Men reap as they sow. A bad 
beginning makes a bad end. He who plants thistles must not 
expect to gather grapes. How needful for those who are the 
chief sufferers from indigence would be a discourse upon the 
words of the son of Sirach : "When thou hast enough, remem- 
ber the time of hunger ; and when thou art rich, think upon 
poverty and need " ! 4 Persons of this class never reflect that 

1 Psalm 1. 15. 2 Psalm xxxvii. 25. 

3 Prov. xxiv. 30-34. 4 Ecclus. xviii. 25. 






58. Be faithful in that which is least. 383 

there will be a to-morrow after to-day, or that he who eats his 
whole loaf at breakfast is likely to have a scanty supper. 
However much they have, they use it all, and when they are 
full, are idle. Or if not from this cause, indigence proceeds 
from men having attempted things above their reach, and dis- 
regarded the proverb — 

' ' Try first to understand 
The task you take in hand ; " 

or the prudent advice of the son of Sirach : " Meddle not with 
many matters : for if thou meddle much thou shall not be 
innocent ; and if thou follow after, thou shalt not attain, neither 
shalt thou escape by fleeing." 1 Sometimes it is avarice, and 
sometimes ambition, which instigates them to attempt to fly 
higher than their wings can carry ; and if the issue be unfortu- 
nate, who can wonder ? 

" Whate'er commences without thought 
Is sure at last to end in nought." 

Probably, too, such want and penury are a penal retribution for 
many an old error and hidden misdeed, unknown to other men, 
but respecting which he who has the yoke to bear is the best 
able to tell whence it comes, and in how far he bears it as a 
penance ; and he will also be the last to cast the blame of it 
upon God. Oh how much oftener than is ever suspected, may 
the victim of such bitter penury be reaping the harvest of a 
seed of evil-doing ! for it admits not of a doubt that ill-gotten 
gain never prospers, and is dissipated in the way it was 
acquired. Ah me ! if in the haunts of beggars the walls could 
speak, would the doctrine which they preach be different from 
that declared by the prophet, when he says that " poverty and 
shame shall be to him that refuseth instruction ;" 2 and that 
" sin is a destruction to any people"? 

It cannot be that that can come to nought which the Word 
of God so often avers — as, for example, when it says : " He 
becometh poor that dealeth with a slack hand ; but the hand 

1 Ecclus. xi. 10. 2 Prov. xiii. 18. 



384 5^- Be faithful in that which is least. 

of the diligent maketh rich ; " 1 and " In all labour there is 
profit." 2 To the same effect the son of Sirach exhorts : " Trust 
in the Lord and abide in thy labour • for it is an easy thing for 
the Lord, on the sudden, to make a poor man rich." 3 As for 
the cases in which sickness, or war, or general dearth may 
have reduced an industrious and faithful servant of God to 
bitter poverty, such poverty will be of temporary duration ; for 
in the day of trouble the Lord will send some friend to take 
his part, and not suffer him to be tempted above that which he 
is able to bear, 4 but will temper the cold to suit the thinness 
of his coat. A servant of the Lord who has always maintained 
his integrity may possibly become J>oor, but he will never become 
a beggar ; and of cheerful poverty the proverb beautifully says 
that " it is riches without wealth" which is consonant with the 
saying of Solomon : "There is that maketh himself rich, yet 
hath nothing ; there is that maketh himself poor, yet hath great 
riches." 5 Besides, it is principally those He means to favour 
whom the Lord visits with poverty, there being so many good 
things of which it is the parent and the nurse. Does not the 
proverb tell us that in the school of privation and hunger many 
have acquired their learning ? and that uprightness and industry 
cannot reduce a man to beggary, was well expressed by Luther, 
when being asked, What was the best investment ? he answered, 
Honesty. 

I therefore know for certain that if I do my part the Lord 
will never suffer me to lack food and raiment; and when 
along with these He gives me a cheerful heart, what more 
should I desire ? At a little fountain we can quench our thirst 
as well as at a great one. I must needs, however, do what is 
my part, and this implies that in the everyday work allotted 
me by the Lord I must look upon nothing as too little, but 
learn to be faithful even in the smallest things. It is related of 
Luther that he wrote with chalk above his fireplace the saying 
of the Lord, "He that is faithful in that which is least, is faith- 

1 Prov. x. 4. 2 Prow xiv. 23. 3 Ecclus. xi. 21. 

4 1 Cor. x. 13. 5 Prov. xiii. 7. 



58. Be faithful in that which is least. 385 

ful also in much" 1 and assigned as the reason that no one 
who despises a penny will ever possess a pound. Dogs learn 
to eat leather by beginning with parings, and he who wastes 
an hour will have little scruple in wasting a whole day. As 
the son of Sirach says, " He that contemneth small things 
shall fall by little and little." 2 Our Lord has told us that He 
holds faithfulness in the use of worldly wealth in the very 
highest esteem ; for He adds in the same passage, " If ye have 
not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit 
to your trust the true riches ? and if ye have not been faithful 
in that which is another man's, who will give you that which 
is your own ? " 3 It is spiritual blessings which He here calls 
the true riches, and that which is our own; and hence it ap- 
pears that these will be bestowed in proportion to the fidelity 
which has been shown in the use of worldly wealth. We are 
to begin with little things; and were Christians to take the 
admonition seriously to heart, and were every one in his voca- 
tion to exercise due conscientiousness even in the smallest 
matters, how good a reputation would be thereby procured 
for the Gospel ! In truth, however, there is nothing so sad as 
to see men continually labouring to mount aloft and aspiring 
to be preachers, not to say spotless angels, before they have 
learned to be decent tailors, shopkeepers, and farmers. No 
doubt it is often a worthy zeal which prompts tradesmen to 
attempt to preach. Has not the Lord declared that if they 
who have been called to that office are silent, the " very stones 
should cry out " ? When, then, a tradesman happens to be 
impelled by the Spirit to bear from house to house a testimony 
in behalf of Christ, the whole clergy of the city ought not, as 
they too often do, to burn with indignation, as if — may God 
forbid the thought ! — they were afraid of losing their bread. 
No doubt the clergy say, Are we then dumb dogs ? and if not, 
what would the stones be at when they open their mouths 
along with us, who are the watchmen upon the towers ? And 
yet when a long war has come to an end, and gentle peace 
1 Luke, xvi. 10. 2 Ecclus. xix. i. 3 Luke, xvi. n, 12. 

2 B 



386 5 & Be faithful in that which is least. 

returns, is it enough if only the watchmen upon the tower pro- 
claim it by sound of trumpet ? May not on such an occasion 
one neighbour be allowed to shout aloud to another, " Peace, 
peace " ? To more than this the laity do not pretend. They 
do not claim the pulpit, nor the priestly gown, nor the right 
to administer the sacraments. Let them, then, proceed as far 
as the Lord bids them. Whether they have been bidden or 
not will soon appear, when it is seen whether they preach with 
anything but the lips ; for certain it is that if a layman suffer 
his preaching to impair his faithfulness in "that which is little" 
even the great things with which he presumes to meddle will 
not prosper in his hand. And nothing can be more odious 
than the set of babblers who do what St Paul blames in young 
widows, saying, " Withal they learn to be idle, wandering 
about from house to house; and not only idle, but tattlers 
also and busybodies, speaking things which they ought not." 1 
In general there is so much to do, and which needs first of all 
to be done in the right building up by every one of his own 
house to the glory of God, that men are willing to leave the 
task of building up the Church to those to whom the Lord 
has assigned it. 

There are few professions which have not their own peculiar 
flaw, bequeathed in succession from father to son, and from 
son to grandson. Advocates, by the exorbitance of their fees, 
and the defence of what is obviously unjust, often do more 
harm than good. Merchants have one set of weights with 
which to buy and another with which to sell, and deal in un- 
wholesome wares ; farmers work their labourers like horses and 
feed them like sparrows, against whom both apostles and 
prophets utter woe ; 2 innkeepers by double charges put salt 
into the travellers' soup ; artists attempt to paint before they 
have learned to mix colours; doctors reckon talk to be a 
branch of their trade; scholars are seldom free from absur- 
dities, that make people fear they have lost half of their wits ; 
and philosophers, above all, because they make the calendars, 
1 1 Tim. v. 13. 2 Jer. xxii. 13 ; James, v. 4. . 



58. Be faithful in that which is least. 387 

fancy that they can also make the weather. Soldiers, too, 
there are, who, though averse to fighting, are commonly 
mighty at boasting ; and clergymen who think that their office 
consists in wearing a gown. In short, there is not a single 
profession which, along with its own peculiar cares, has not its 
own peculiar flaw ; and hence the man who firmly sets his 
face against it, and, instead of excusing himself for doing what 
is wrong with the plea that others do the same, earnestly 
strives, according to the exhortation of the apostle, " to be in 
all things blameless and harmless, the son of God, without 
rebuke," 1 will find the task a hard one; and yet it is a task 
which, as a Christian, he must undertake. In hours of calm 
reflection we ought to ponder before God all the sins and 
temptations which cleave to our line of life, in order faithfully 
to watch and protect ourselves from them. 

In cases where God vouchsafes blessing and success to 
a family, so that it increases in numbers, and at the same time 
in wealth and substance, a new temptation is apt to take its 
rise. On the one hand there are some who believe that they 
can now dispense with prayer, and who make flesh their arm, 
and put their trust in the things that perish; although the 
Lord understands quite as well how to make a rich man 
suddenly poor as how to make a poor man suddenly rich, 
according to the words of James, " Let the rich man glory in 
that he is made low, because as the flower of the grass he shall 
pass away." And great is the mistake were any one to ima- 
gine that when riches enter the house there is less of tempta- 
tion to cleave to pence, seeing that experience teaches, on 
the contrary, that in such a case the attachment of the heart 
to earthly good becomes so much the stronger, according to the 
proverb, The more a man has the less he gives away, and he 
grows miserly as he grows rich. It seems a strange thing to 
affirm, but yet it is true, that the fear of want is always greatest 
where wealth is most abundant. It was said by Frederick II. 
that superfluity blinds even the strongest minds ; and the truth 
1 Phil. ii. 15. 



388 58. Be faithful in that which is least. 

of the observation is exemplified by the fact, that the more 
a man possesses, the less is he disposed to think that he pos- 
sesses enough. 

True it is that as a family increases their wants multiply. 
The children must have clothes and shoes, and the servants 
wages and food; but who have had larger experience than 
virtuous parents blessed with a numerous offspring that God 
can drop His gifts into men's bosoms in a way they know not 
of, and that when the children multiply so likewise do the 
loaves from day to day, though they know as little from whence 
these come? On this subject Luther observes, "That the 
increase of children generally deteriorates men by making 
them more penurious, and leading them to scrape and pare 
and save wherever they can, in order that their offspring may 
be well provided for. They do not know that every little 
child before he is brought into the world has had his portion 
— what and how much he is to have, and what he is to become 
— already marked out for him." Moreover, there is this 
danger inherent in the pursuit of riches, that one has not the 
power to stop where he would wish, which is especially true 
of merchants. They are driven from one speculation into 
another, and become ever more and more entangled with 
worldly cares, and so forget that here on earth we are 
pilgrims. 

Inasmuch, then, O my God and Father, as I am thus appre- 
hensive of deviating now to the right hand and now to the 
left, I implore of Thee to give me above all things the true 
pilgrim frame of mind. Certain it is that here we have no 
permanent place of abode, but are strangers and sojourners 
on the earth ; vouchsafe to me, therefore, a contented heart, 
which shall count it enough to have food and raiment when 
to these Thou dost add Thy grace. If Thou give me riches, 
I will use them for no other purpose than to be rich in good 
works, and to lay up treasures as a fund for the life to come. 
If Thou send me poverty, then also will I praise Thee, for 
then I shall be less exposed to temptation. And if the mite 



59- There are many Members, but one Body. 389 

which the poor widow cast into the treasury outweighed the 
costly offerings of the rich, 1 so also will my penny, if given 
with a willing heart, be counted as great as if I had wealth to 
give. This poor life of ours is but a brief winter day ; it will 
soon be gone, and then its poverty or riches will lie behind 
us like a dream, while the good things of eternity shall recreate 
our hearts for ever. To these point all the desires of my soul, 
and to these conduct me by Thy grace. 



59. 

Qfym are mang $&zmbtT&, fcut arte Bofog, 

You marvel that the Lord, who made 

All things according to a plan, 
Sets on so manifold a grade 
The motley family of man. 

For some are nobly born and bred, 
A nd some are men of low degree ; 

Here a proud patron lifts his head, 
Tliere a poor client bends the knee. 

A prince imperial is one, 

Another toils his bread to gain ; 

The king sits on a golden throjie, 
The page attends to bear his train. 

But earth has other trees beside 

The lordly palm that towers on high; 

Nor through the air's dominion wide 
Do only royal eagles fly. 

And lesser orbs than sun and moon 
Shed o'er the firmament their light, 

And even IN heaven God's will is done 
By others than archangels 



1 Luke, xxi. 2. 



390 59- There are many Members, but one Body. 

Why marvel, then, if He who guides 

All earthly things by counsel wise, 
The numerous HOST OF MEN divides, 

And sets in ranks and companies f 

Where many meet upon a plain, 

And all must room convenient find, 
Some stand before, and some again 

Must needs consent to stand behind. 

But if where'er their lot may fall, 
Not one but sees the monarch's face, 

And at the common table all 
Find their appointed plate and place, 

I wonder any man of sense 

Can here pretend to take offence. 

i Cor. xii. 17-20. " If the whole body were an eye, where 
were the hearing? if the whole were hearing, where were 
the smelling ? But now hath God set the members every 
one of them in the body, as it hath pleased Him. And 
if they were all one member, where were the body ? But 
now are they many members, yet but one body." 

Ecclus. x. 22. " Whether he be rich, noble, or poor, their 
glory is the fear of the Lord." 

WHEREFORE henceforth," saith the apostle, " know 
we no man after the flesh : yea, though we have 
known Christ after the flesh, yet now henceforth know we 
Him no more. Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is 
a new creature : old things are passed away ; behold, all 
things are become new." 1 

This is what always happens when Christ awakens the soul, 
and makes it acquainted with Himself. In surveying the 
whole family of man upon earth, the only things we then ob- 
serve are, whether they are or are not the children of God ; 
and dividing them into two classes, we turn our hearts towards 
the one and away from the other. So great and momentous 
does the new creatureship in Christ appear, that we look upon 
1 2 Cor. v. 16, 17. 



59- There are many Members, but one Body. 391 

it as constituting the only proper difference between man and 
man ; nay more, even among those who partake of the new 
nature we at first make no distinction between the great and 
the little, the high and the low, the wise and the foolish, the 
more and the less advanced. All that we look to or inquire 
after is, whether they are willing to be Christ's, and to be 
called by His name. For this reason I can easily understand 
how it has happened that among the adherents of the Lord 
parties have arisen who imagined that they rightly caught His 
meaning when they refused to admit any distinction at all 
among professing Christians, and interpreted with the utmost 
strictness the saying of the apostle, that " there is neither Jew 
nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male 
nor female : for ye are all one in Christ Jesus." 1 This, for 
example, is done by that body of Christians who take to them- 
selves the name of Friends, but are by others called Quakers. 
In like manner, in Luther's days, there arose fanatical Ana- 
baptists and other sectaries, who, in the wildness of their zeal, 
sought to abolish all diversities of rank, and to place servants 
and masters, the rich and the poor, upon the same level. 

It is possible to feel very painfully the partition walls which 
divide from each other the high and the low among the chil- 
dren of God, and more especially the fact of the unequal dis- 
tribution of earthly property, so that many a Christian brother 
must needs pine in misery and care, while another possesses 
more than his necessities require. Indeed I have myself often 
had very serious thoughts upon this subject, when reading 
what is reported about the infant Church — viz., that "the 
multitude of them that believed were of one heart and of one 
soul ; neither said any of them that ought of the things which 
he possessed was his own; but they had all things common." 2 
What ! said I to myself ; could brotherly love do so great 
things in those days, and ought it not also to be able to do 
the same in our own ? I sought for instruction, however, and 
it was vouchsafed to me. 

1 Gal. xii. 28. 2 Acts, ii. 45 ; iv. 32. 



392 59- There are many Members, but one Body. 

When the apostle delivered the precept, " Brethren, let 
every man, wherein he is called, therein abide with God," 1 
he excepted no station or trade save those against which he 
had elsewhere warned as being disreputable? We do not read 
that Peter enjoined the centurion Cornelius at his conversion 
to quit the military profession, or that Paul on a similar occa- 
sion gave a similar order to the deputy, Sergius Paulus, in the 
island of Cyprus ; nor do we even read that he ordered Chris- 
tian masters to set at liberty their servants, although these 
were then bondsmen and slaves. What he did was to exhort 
the former not to forget that they also had a Master in heaven j 
and to remind the latter that they were the Lord's freemen, 
and therefore ought to perform their service as to the Lord, 
and not as to men. 3 Nay, he commanded Onesimus, the run- 
away slave, after he had converted him at Rome, to return to 
his master Philemon, who was a Christian ; and wrote on the 
occasion the beautiful epistle in which he pours forth the 
whole affection of his heart. It thus appears that even the 
apostles of the Lord gave their sanction to the diversities of 
rank. As for the community of goods which obtained among 
the Christians in the infant Church, it was only of ,such sort 
as left every one at liberty if he chose to sell any part of his 
superfluous property for the benefit of the poor brethren. 4 
And accordingly we afterwards find a Christian female, the 
mother of the evangelist Mark, possessing a house of her 
own. 5 Nor could such a partition of property possibly obtain 
among Christians as a general rule, but was practicable only 
among those in Jerusalem ; and hence, when the Church there 
was reduced to poverty, and charitable contributions were 
made in all quarters for their relief, nothing more was required 
of the contributors than that every one should give according to 
that he had. 6 Neither did the apostle object to parents laying 
up in store for their children, 7 but even enjoined as quite a 

i i Cor. vii. 24. 2 1 Tim. iii. 3 ; Titus, i. 7. 

3 1 Cor. vii. 22 ; Eph. vi. 5-9. 4 Acts, v. 4. 

5 Acts, xii. 12. 6 2 Cor. viii. 12, 13. 7 2 Cor. xii. 14. 



59- There are many Members, but one Body. 393 

special duty that every man should first of all provide for 
those of his own house. 1 

Alas ! that which makes the inequalities of rank and fortune 
so painful here on earth is singly and solely the forgetfulness 
of men that they are not lords over these things, but only 
stewards, and will have to render an account. Let that one 
truth be recognised, and it sets all things in their proper order; 
and though there may still remain manifold distinctions upon 
earth, there will be no clefts or chasms. It is thus that Luther 
admirably comments upon the saying of Christ : " When thou 
art bidden to a wedding, go and sit down in the lowest room, that 
when he that bade thee cometh, he ?nay say unto thee, Friend, go 
up higher." Why does he here forbid us to sit down in the 
highest room, and yet says that he that sits down in the low- 
est shall be made to go up higher ? I answer, the explanation 
must be sought in the word choose in the seventh verse, where 
it is said that when he marked how they chose out the chief rooms, 
just as in the foregoing context the ground of the censure is 
in the expression that on the Sabbath-day they watched him. 
There must be sitters both in the higher and in the lower 
rooms, for it is impossible to provide every individual in the 
Church with a special place or station, time, temple, or chapel 
of his own. And so in like manner we cannot all be princes, 
dukes, and noblemen, preachers and citizens, men and women, 
masters and servants. These many and different ranks require 
to be interspersed with each other ; and in his own station, 
whatever it may be, every one has enough to do. We cannot, 
therefore, and ought not, all of us to sit equally high or equally 
low; and the distinction which God has ordained must be 
observed, that he who is of higher rank than others shall also 
occupy a higher seat. And so the duke must not set himself 
above the prince, nor the servant above the master. More- 
over, there must also be a similar difference between other 
ranks, such as town and country people ; and it is of great 
importance that what Christ here says and means should be 
1 Gal. vi. 10 : 1 Tim. v. 8. 



394 59- There are many Members, but one Body. 

clearly understood. Know then, if thou be a man of rank, or 
hast in any way been preferred to others, that that advantage 
is a gift of God, and has been vouchsafed to thee not that 
thou shouldst plume thyself on account of it, and hold thy 
head above thy fellows, as if it made thee better in God's 
sight than they. Rather, on the contrary, is it His command 
that thou shouldst be the more humble, and minister with it 
to thy neighbour. The larger measure which God may have 
given to thee of power, rank, and dignity, thou oughtest to 
view as an injunction to employ these gifts in the service of 
others ; and if thou neglect to do this, know for certain that 
many a poor herd-boy, whose talents and estimation in the 
eyes of the world are as nothing when compared to thine, is 
yet in the eyes of God and the angels greatly thy superior, 
and will be exalted to heaven, whereas thou, with all thy fair 
ornaments and proud honours, shalt be cast into hell. God 
is not the maker merely of princes, and counts, and nobles, 
and scholars, nor are these the only persons whom He has 
invited into His kingdom ; but any man whatever, provided 
he be a Christian, is with Him quite as good as any other, 
according to the words of our Creed : " / believe in God 
Almighty, maker of heaven and earth." Think not, then, that 
thou only art entitled to take the higher seat, and yield it to 
no other ; for God, who made thee a master, or a ruler, or 
a doctor, or a teacher, is just as much the God of the poor 
beggar before thy door, and looks as straight at him as at the 
greatest prince or lord upon the earth. In short, whether 
thou sittest above, or in the middle, or below, the Creed puts 
all upon the same level when it says, " We believe in one God, 
maker of heaven and earth." 

When one man learns to regard his rank and another his 
low degree, this one his wealth and that one his poverty, as 
being mere gifts, the cleft between them is at once done away. 
This the apostle tells us, in language of surpassing beauty, 
when he says to masters that they ought to look upon them- 
selves as " servants of God," and bids servants remember that 



59- There are many Members, but one Body. 395 

they are " freemen of Christ." In those days servants were 
bondsmen or slaves, and yet the apostle did not, for wise 
reasons, declaim against slavery. In fact, where the master 
and the servant stand toward God and each other in the rela- 
tion described, slavery is virtually done away, and all that 
remains of it is but the outward shell. The apostle James 
says, to the same effect, " Let the brother of low degree rejoice 
in that he is exalted ; but the rich, in that he is made low." 1 
By which he means that the man of low degree and the man 
of wealth should make it their boast, the one that the Lord 
has spiritually exalted him, and the other that he has been 
spiritually humbled and abased. 

The Christian man of rank, who sets a value upon his posi- 
tion, does so merely because he judges that he ought not to 
allow what is a divine gift to be trodden under foot, and is 
well aware that it does not make him better than others ; and 
if the Christian of low degree pay honour and deference to 
him who is in a higher place, he does it solely because he 
knows that the Lord has set him where he is, and it is to the 
divine ordinance, and not to the man, that his homage is paid. 
When the rich man looks upon himself as being a steward, 
and as having nothing of his own, he will feel the obligation 
to administer his means, not according to his own caprice, or 
for his own benefit. Recognising the fact that he is merely 
the purse-bearer of the Lord, he will discharge every bill which 
his Master presents to him. In this way the rich become pay- 
masters and stewards of the poor, and will take deeply to heart 
what the Lord says in language so affecting : " Then shall the 
King say unto them on His right hand, Come, ye blessed of 
my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the 
foundation of the world : for I was an hungered, and ye gave 
me meat ; I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink ; I was a 
stranger, and ye took me in ; naked, and ye clothed me ; I 
was sick, and ye visited me ; I was in prison, and ye came 
unto me." It is, in fact, Christ the Lord Himself who appeals 
1 James, i. 9, 10. 



39(5 59- There are many Members, but one Body. 

to us in the person of every sufferer, and that is a thought 
which might well soften stones, not to speak of Christian 
hearts ; and therefore the wealthy believer will never fail to 
honour every order of which he knows for certain that it has 
been forwarded to him by his Lord and King. 

The exhortations in holy Scripture " to do good and com- 
municate " are of so frequent occurrence as might lead us to 
suppose that we ought to reserve nothing for ourselves at all ; 
and to that effect many a serious and disquieting thought may 
possibly pass through the mind of a conscientious Christian. 
Even in this matter, however, we must keep within certain 
bounds; for if our station and calling be from God, and if 
every station and calling entails a certain outward style of 
living, begets various wants, and even requires occasional 
recreations, we cannot so totally impoverish ourselves and 
give all we have to the poor. It must likewise be consider- 
ed, that by going too far in that direction, a man would in 
other ways lack the means of fulfilling the positive duties which 
the Lord has imposed upon him. No doubt we often hear the 
poor speaking very absurdly on this subject, as if every man of 
rank who is a Christian brother were bound to wear the jacket 
and clogs of a common workman, and as if every joint of meat 
put into his pot were a robbery of the indigent. But were the 
man of rank, out of charity to the poor, really to put on the 
jacket and the clogs, he would be forced at last to go out of the 
world. For if one man's conscience were to scruple at eating 
flesh so long as another had only herbs, the conscience of that 
other might scruple as well about the herbs, so long as a third 
had only dry bread ; and thus there would be no end to scruples 
of conscience. At the marriage of Cana, where He turned water 
into wine, and when sitting at table in the house of Mary and 
Martha, our Lord for certain did not drink mere water and eat 
dry bread. And as little in the matter of dress did He, like 
John the Baptist, put on a cloak of camel's hair, but wore an 
over and under garment, such as at the time were the ordinary 






59- There are many Members, but one Body. 397 

dress of the people of Palestine. 1 The measure of wealth 
which the Lord gives him the believer thankfully accepts, and 
when the Lord requires it, cheerfully gives it back. And in cases 
where he is certain that the Lord really calls, and that in the 
person of an indigent brother his Saviour is standing incognito 
before him, with an order in His hand, the best thing he can 
do is not to inquire and calculate too much whether enough 
will still be left for his cattle and servants, and wife and 
children, but to act on the old and faithful adage, " Alms-giv- 
ing makes no man poor, as going to church is no loss of time." 
It once happened that Justus Jonas, on giving an alms to a 
beggar, made the observation, " Who knows when God will 
give it me back ? " Upon which Luther answered, " As if He 
had not done it already /" On another occasion, when the 
generous-hearted Reformer was appealed to by a poor beggar, 
and had only a single dollar in his box, " Out, Mr Dollar ! " 
said he ; " the Lord God has come for thee," — and gave it 
away. It is true, moreover, that " man lives by every word 
which proceeds out of the mouth of God," and that what we 
give away returns to us when we least expect it. This is 
beautifully expressed by the Preacher when he says, " Cast 
thy bread upon the waters, for thou shalt find it after many 
days." 2 Similar is the saying of the Arabians, " Cast thy bread 
into the water; though the fish do not know it, God does." 
And the proverb of King Solomon, which had reached their 
ears, has been expounded by the Easterns in a beautiful story. 
They tell us that there was a good-looking boy, who was loved 
and preferred above all others by the Caliph Mutawakkil. 
Having one day gone to the river Tigris to exercise himself in 
swimming, he was carried away by the stream, and although 
many hastened along the bank in order to save him, he sud- 
denly disappeared. The occurrence, when reported to the 
Caliph, grieved him to the very heart. He descended from 
his throne, put on mourning, and wore it for seven days. When 
these were ended, he conceived a strong desire that at least 

1 John, xix. 23. 2 Eccles. xi. i. 



398 59- There are many Members, but one Body. 

the body of his favourite might be found ; and sending for boat- 
men and divers, offered a thousand pieces of gold as a reward 
for its recovery. In a short time one of these returned and 
addressed him, saying, " O Caliph ! thou hast offered a great 
reward to him who shall bring back to thee the dead body of 
thy favourite ; behold, I bring him back to thee alive ! " and 
having thus spoken, conducted the boy uninjured into the pre- 
sence of his master. The Caliph was greatly astonished, and 
his joy was without measure. The account which the youth gave 
of himself was, that while being carried ever farther and farther 
down the stream, he, in his dismay, caught hold of the branch 
of a tamarind-tree, and close to it perceived a cave above the 
level of the water. Into this he crept for refuge, and on the 
following day, as he sat in deep despondency, pondering on 
the miserable death from hunger which threatened inevitably 
to be his fate, a wooden platter, whereon were twenty cakes, 
floated towards him, and continued daily to do so as long as 
he remained in the cave ; and on all of the cakes there was im- 
printed a certain name. The Caliph was filled with wonder at 
the story, and without delay caused search to be made for the 
person whose name was on the cakes. Being found and interro- 
gated by the Caliph as to his motives for doing what he had 
done, this person answered, — " It is written, * Cast thy bread 
upon the water, and thou- shalt find it after many days? " Yes, 
of a truth, as " ill-gotten gain enriches no man," so neither does 
an alms, when given in faith, make a man poor. 

We read respecting the angels, that they too are not all of 
equal rank, but that there are among them archangels, and 
thrones, and dominions, and principalities, and powers, whom 
the Lord of hosts has certainly endowed with different gifts 
and capacities, but who yet consort together in love and friend- 
ship. And why so ? It is because each of them knows full 
well that divine grace, and that alone, has made him what he 
is, and raised him to the rank which he holds. Would that this 
were also the case with mankind ! No longer would diversities 
of gifts sever them from each other. Instead of lamenting or 



59- There are many Members, but one Body. 399 

murmuring at his humble station, every one would rather rejoice 
in the good allotted to himself, and at the same time be as 
heartily glad at that which had fallen to the share of a neigh- 
bour. Wherefore, dear brethren, if you ever look up to the 
things above you, and are inclined to feel ashamed of the call- 
ing which has been assigned as your lot, be exhorted to cast 
such pride away. The son of Sirach says : " Search not the 
things that are above thy strength, but what is commanded thee 
think thereupon ; for it is not needful for thee to see the things 
that are in secret/' 1 The humblest cottage may be handsomely 
furnished, and a village, however small, may have its annual 
wake. 

Even in the stormiest April day 

The fragrant violet blows ; 
And no rude chance can take away 

The good which God bestows. 

No doubt we often imagine that the desire to change our 
place and station is in order that we may be able to serve God 
more faithfully. But that also is one of Satan's tricks and 
devices ; for what said the Lord to the servant who, having 
received a single pound, kept it laid up in a napkin, instead of 
laying it out at interest? Did He not call him a "wicked 
servant " for alleging : " I feared thee, because thou art an 
austere man, . . . and reapest that thou didst not sow " ? 2 
It seems, then, that our gracious Saviour is not willing to be 
numbered among the masters who reap what they did not sow ; 
and therefore the man whose station in life makes the service 
of God more difficult to him than it is to others, may tranquil- 
lise his mind. The only law enforced in the court of heaven 
is the law of justice, that " Unto whomsoever much is given, of 
him shall be much required ; and to whom men have com- 
mitted much, of him they will ask the more." 3 Give thyself then 
no trouble, if, by reason of thy station, little has been commit- 
ted to thee. A day is coming when thou wilt rejoice that all 
the less is required at thy hand. In a vast edifice there must 

1 Ecclus. iii. 21, 22. 2 Luke, xix. 21. 3 Luke, xii. 48. 



400 6o. Husband and Wife are one Flesh. 

not only be square blocks and corner-stones of large dimen- 
sions, but small ones also to fill the chinks ; and if the small 
ones do not make so great a show as the large, they have com- 
pensation in this, that they have less to bear. 



60. 

liustfiatto ant) TOtfe arc one jFIesf}. 

Till death shall you divide ! 
These are the solemn words that make 
One flesh of those who erst were twain ; 
Nor is there power on earth to break 
That one indissoluble chain. 
Be prudence then thy guide ; 
Let prudence be thy guide. 
Atid lest through wedlock's mystic gates 
With light and heedless step thou go, 
Bethink thee that behind it waits 
Unmeasured happiness or woe 
Till death shall you divide. 

Matt. xix. 3-9. " The Pharisees also came unto Him, tempt- 
ing Him, and saying unto Him, Is it lawful for a man to 
put away his wife for every cause ? And He answered 
and said unto them, Have ye not read, that He which 
made them at the beginning made them male and female, 
and said, For this cause shall a man leave father and 
mother, and shall cleave to his wife : and they twain shall 
be one flesh ? Wherefore they are no more twain, but 
one flesh. What therefore God hath joined together, let 
not man put asunder. They say unto Him, Why did 
Moses then command to give a writing of divorcement, 
and to put her away? He saith unto them, Moses 
because of the hardness of your hearts suffered you to put 



60. Husband and Wife are one Flesh. 40 1 

away your wives : but from the beginning it was not so. 
And I say unto you, Whosoever shall put away his wife, 
except it be for fornication, and shall marry another, com- 
mitteth adultery : and whoso marrieth her which is put 
away doth commit adultery." 

SUCH are the few words on which depend the blessing of 
all the Christian families which have existed since there 
was a Church on earth. When some text of holy Scripture 
suggests to my mind a thought like this, I seem to myself to 
be standing before the little brook in a rocky cleft, of which 
we know that at the end of its course it has become a mighty 
river, and floats on its bosom some hundred sail. 

Our Lord here refers back to the word which God spake at 
the beginning. At the time when the sacred records of Israel 
began, far higher notions respecting marriage were entertained 
than the law of Moses and the wisdom of the Scribes afterwards 
taught. The words by which it was instituted, but which the 
people had wholly overlooked, Jesus here brings again to light 
— sets it, so to speak, like a precious jewel in gold, and thus 
makes it one of the costliest ornaments of the Christian domes- 
tic economy. To all the beasts of the field God spake and 
said, " Increase and multiply." But of none of these is it 
written that he brought the female to the male, and hence 
among them there is no marriage. For Adam, however, he 
provides a peculiar wife taken out of himself, and conducts 
and gives her to him. Adam, on his part, assents and accepts 
her ; and that is then a marriage. Almighty God also said : 
u For this cause shall a man leave father and mother ; and shall 
cleave to his wife; and they twain shall be one flesh ; " and He 
thereby distinguishes conjugal love from all the other kinds of 
love. The kinds are three — the false, the natural, and the 
conjugal. False love seeks its own things, as when gold, or 
lands, or honours are loved, or woman in an unlawful way. 
Natural love is that which is felt for parents, brothers and 
sisters, relatives and friends — and it seeks the good of another, 

2 C 



402 6o. Husband and Wife are one Flesh. 

yet not altogether for that other's sake, but likewise for its 
own. Superior to all these is conjugal love. This is an ardent 
flame, and has no other object but the wedded consort. Its 
language is, I want not what is thine, neither thy gold, nor 
thy silver, nor anything else ; what I want is thyself. The 
other kinds of love seek something else than their object. 
This one alone will have its object and nothing else, and will 
have it exclusively as its own. How pure would have been 
such a flame between bridegroom and bride had Adam never 
fallen ! Now, however, even conjugal love is no longer pure ; 
for although the consorts seek each the other, each in the other 
seeks also to gratify self, and so this love is defiled. 

" And they twain shall be one flesh" Inasmuch as each of 
them seeks to be not merely devoted to, but, if I may so say, 
identified with and lost in the other, they are no longer twain 
but one flesh \ and it is impossible that any decrease or growth, 
any gain or loss, any death or birth, can concern the one and 
not equally affect both. Let loathsome disease, let leprosy, 
let infamy and stripes, or any evil whatever, befall either, still 
they do not part, because they are one body ; and so the 
Word of the Lord proceeds to say, " What therefore God hath 
joined together, let not man put asunder." And if it be a 'divine 
commandment which has so closely joined and blended them 
together, who is he who, for any reason whatsoever, shall bid 
them forsake and separate from each other ? 

No doubt the ties which knit human hearts together are 
manifold, and equally various the modes of love. Divine wis- 
dom, however, has been pleased to constitute, as quite a pecu- 
liar bond, the one at whose formation the words, until death 
divide you, have been uttered by consecrated lips; and if that 
bar have once been fixed, no human hand on earth either can 
or ought to remove it. And unquestionably this is what rea- 
son dictates, inasmuch as the marriage contract has no match 
in any other conjunction of human hearts. In all of these, no 
doubt, there is the desire of mutual identification, and on both 
sides a giving and taking. But nowhere does this take place 



6o. Husband and Wife are one Flesh. 403 

so fully as in the state of marriage, for in that there is the 
peculiarity that the twain become not merely one spirit, but in 
an equal degree one flesh : and this is a circumstance which 
gives to the spiritual betrothal a peculiar tenderness and inti- 
macy, the reason being that all that is spiritual, when it attains 
to full power, emerges into view in the exterior of the flesh. 
For example, the light that shines in a man's heart, if it wax to 
a competent strength and intensity, beams from and irradiates 
his countenance. The same happens in wedlock. Indeed, if 
God have blessed a marriage with children, the husband and 
wife may actually behold manifested in their offspring how 
completely they have been blended together and become one, 
inasmuch as the spiritual and bodily nature of the child ex- 
hibits in close combination the idiosyncrasies of the father and 
the mother. 

The divine intention of holy wedlock was at its first institu- 
tion declared in the words : "The Lord God said, It is not 
good that the man should be alone ; I will make him an help meet 
for him." Accordingly a Christian wife has been appointed 
the helpmate of her husband, in order that through her he may 
obtain what no other helper or friend, how good soever, could 
possibly give him. For observe, if two persons are to be 
mutually helpful, the first and main requisite is that they should 
look upon one another not as strange or alien, but as identical 
each with the other. This alone is sufficient to show the 
impossibility that in any other fellowship there can be such 
reciprocal help and ministration as in the holy state of matri- 
mony. It is true that the ties of affection between parent and 
child, brother and sister, are very sacred and tender, but they 
do not reach to so complete a community of mine and thine 
as obtains between man and wife ; and moreover, it is only 
for a limited time that these parties consort together. The 
children grow up, and when the brothers and sisters come of 
age, each of them, as Luther says, seeks a nest of his own. 
In wedlock, however, what is there which is not common to 
husband and wife; and what other relationship in an equal 



404 6o. Husband and Wife are one Flesh. 

degree binds together the parties who have entered into it for 
the whole term of their lives ? That is a sufficient reason why 
no friend, not even a mother or a child, can be so helpful to a 
man as a Christian wife. 

There is, however, another reason why divine wisdom has 
ordained that the Christian wife should be above all others 
the helpmate of her husband. It is because she has been 
endowed with what the nature of the husband lacks, or what 
it cannot easily perform. The woman is, as holy Scripture on 
many accounts has called her, "the weaker vessel." 1 Her 
body is not made for so great exertion or severe labour as is 
that of the man. Nor yet has her mind been designed by 
God to explore the depths of wisdom or wield the reins of 
government. But what Christian women ought to possess as 
a heritage, and what has likewise in some measure been con- 
ferred upon them in their natural disposition, is the "hidden 
man of the heart, even the ornament of a meek and quiet 
spirit," 2 in order that they may humbly and affectionately and 
tenderly manage the domestic concerns and rule the house 
while the husband is labouring for it in the streets and broad- 
ways, or occupying himself with public affairs. Hear to this 
effect the description of Solomon : " Who can find a virtuous 
woman ? for her price is far above rubies. The heart of her 
husband doth safely trust in her, so that he shall have no need 
of spoil. She will do him good and not evil all the days of 
her life. She seeketh wool and flax, and worketh willingly 
with her hands. . . . Her husband is known in the gates, 
when he sitteth among the elders of the land." 3 To the same 
effect the apostle also writes : " Let the woman learn in sile?ice 
with all subjection. But I suffer not a woman to teach, nor to 
usurp authority over the man, but to be in silence. . . 
Notwithstanding she shall be saved in child-bearing, if they 
continue in faith and charity and holiness with sobriety." 4 By 
such helpfulness at home a married wife becomes in the true 

1 Pet. iii. 7. 2 1 Pet. iii. 4. 

3 Prov. xxxi. 10-13, 23. 4 1 Tim. ii. 11, 12, 15. 



6o. Husband and Wife are one Flesh. 405 

sense the husband's other half. So that, while complying with 
the requirements of his rank and vocation, he exerts himself 
for the greater part of the day away from home and with 
people on the street, he yet can enjoy a calm and easy mind, 
knowing as he does that his other half has been left at home 
to protect the household. No friend, supposing his intentions 
to be ever so good, can in these matters be a wife's substitute 
and perform her part. 

And as by her quiet walk and decent management she is 
thus a help to her husband in the things of the outer man, so 
likewise is she by her feminine nature better qualified than any 
other friend to help him in what concerns the inner man. The 
part assigned to her is not to govern, but in all reasonable 
things to be obedient to her husband : she is to have nothing 
of her own, but in every respect to belong to him, for which 
reason she is called in Scripture " woma?t." 1 Moreover, having 
been endowed with a quicker susceptibility of love than the 
man, she is thereby enabled more easily to feel as if they 
were her own the cares, and mortifications, and sorrows which 
befall her husband, and to lighten the burden for him by bear- 
ing a share of it. Besides, as the man has by nature a hotter 
and more unquiet blood, so that cares and mortifications 
agitate him more profoundly, and sooner excite him to repri- 
sals ; the pious wife, on the other hand, by her calmer frame 
of mind, and tenderer affection, can gently moderate the fire 
when it threatens too violent an outbreak, and pacify and dis- 
sipate the indignation ere it has time to draw furrows on the 
brow. Oh yes — 

Buy, if thou canst, to bless thy life, 
At any price, a faithful wife. 

Such is the blessing of Christian wedlock, and it is not with- 
held even when God withholds what is wedlock's chief orna- 
ment and joy, nay, what may even be called its seal — viz., the 
fruit of the body. But if, over and above the blessing, God is 

1 Gen. ii. 23. 



406 60. Husband and Wife are one Flesh. 

pleased to make a marriage fruitful, it then appears in the 
clearest light what the word meant when the wife was called a 
help meet to the man. When God vouchsafes children, He 
vouchsafes to marriage a crown of honour ; for it is an honour 
to parents to be deemed worthy of giving birth to an immortal 
creature for His service. What an emotion is that which a 
father feels when into his arms is laid a living being which, 
through his instrumentality, has been brought into existence ! 
When we look upon a new-born babe, is it not, as a father of 
the Church has said, " as if we caught God's hands at work" ? 
Now in this crown of honour the wife has the principal share. 
She is the mother of the life, as Eve was called, that being the 
meaning of her name. 1 Hers is the bitterest part. With pain 
must she carry the babe in her womb, with pain bring it forth, 
and often with pain give it suck. It is she who in the house 
must watch for the growth and health of its body and foster the 
delicate germs of its spiritual life. Think not that the influence 
of women in the world is small. Nothing can be more certain 
than that it is really from the nurseries that the world is governed, 
so amazingly great is the power which mothers exert over the 
bodily and spiritual life of their children. How would the 
fathers succeed in the difficult task of bringing them up if left 
to themselves and without their wives as meet helpers ? If, 
then, the hearts of husband and wife have previously been 
blended together, how perfectly do they become one when 
they have children, and when in these they see their virtues 
and faults reflected as in a mirror, when in common they share 
sorrow or joy for a human soul, which the grace of God has 
vouchsafed to them as a peculiar gift, and when in prayer their 
hands are folded together upon the head of an innocent child ! 
" Lo, children are an heritage of the Lord : and the fruit of 
the womb is His reward." 2 

Ought, then, a contract which binds two human souls so 
closely as that they really become each one the other's half, to 
be broken for any cause soever save the one which the Lord 

1 Gen. iii. 20. 2 Psalm cxxvii q. 



6o. Husband and Wife are one Flesh. 407 

has Himself specified ? What is it that should cut asunder a 
bond which He has twined? Shall severe and incurable dis- 
ease, shall madness itself? Shall a fall so great as even to 
entail public disgrace ? Oh no; when love has once fused 
the hearts of a married pair into one, it should help them to 
bear the very worst of evils. And even though the hearts were 
never from the first properly united, nor God consulted in the 
making of the contract, does not the contract still continue 
holy which has received His priestly sanction, and over which 
the words, Until death divide you, have been pronounced ? If 
the twain have given their consent in the presence of God, 
shall man presume to separate what He has joined together? 
Perhaps it was in thoughtlessness that thou didst choose thy 
mate, and thou hast since repented; but, friend, didst thou 
not know that this was a contract which none but God could 
break, and He by death? And if that was known to thee, 
why didst thou not use due precaution ? Why didst thou rush 
into it, as if it had merely been the purchasing of a piece of 
furniture or the renting of a house ? Marriage is more than a 
mere barter of bonnets. Reflect now and learn, since thou didst 
not learn it before, what the proverb says, " He who marries in 
haste will repent at leisure." Ought the contract to lose its 
sacredness because thou wert thoughtless ? Let the bond once 
be relaxed and there will be a great many still more thought- 
less marriages. The more you give, the more will be taken. 
They say that the fairest garland of a man's life is a happy 
marriage ; and it is also true that an unhappy one is its heaviest 
cross. But if the man himself have bound the birch, ought he 
to shrink when God beats him with it? My friend, if it was 
with a thoughtless heart that you rushed into these bonds, only 
believe that to cure a thoughtlessness so great there is no more 
powerful remedy than the bonds themselves. 

" If," says Luther, " thou hast a sick consort, do not, for 
thy life, take another, but serve God in him, and nurse him, 
and be persuaded that he has been sent by God into thy house 
to be to thee a sacred thing, and to help thee to win heaven. 



408 60. Husband and Wife are one Flesh. 

And blessed art thou if thou recognisest this gift and blessing, 
and takest care of thy husband in his sickness for God's sake. 
Let God take care for thee, and be assured that He will give 
thee grace, and not lay on thee a heavier burden than thou art 
able to bear." 

Again, he says : " Hast thou an ill-natured wife ? There is 
no nicer cross than such a wife. It can sift the dross out of 
a man more effectually than Satan himself." As for other 
hardships or heartaches which thy marriage may entail, espe- 
cially if they be without thy fault, only submit to them in faith, 
and thou wilt see that on God's part they were not ill intended. 

It is true the Lord says that on account of the hard-hearted- 
ness of the people Moses was permitted to relax the command- 
ment given by the Almighty in Paradise, and to allow a writing 
of divorcement : and for the prevention of worse evils the civil 
magistrate among ourselves may be constrained to grant a like 
indulgence. But the man who wishes to belong to the flock 
of Christ owns neither Moses nor yet the civil magistrate for his 
master. He owns the Lord alone, and the Lord has said, 
" Whosoever shall put away his wife, except it be for fornication, 
and shall marry another, committeth adultery : and whosoever 
marrieth her which is put away committeth adultery." 1 If, 
then, thou wouldst have Christ for thy master, thou must take 
up the cross which He lays upon His disciples. Remember 
that the heavy rod was of thine own making, and try to learn 
patience and faith under its strokes. 

Ah me ! if our youth would but more deeply ponder what it is 
to choose a partner to be of one spirit and one flesh with them 
for the whole of their pilgrimage on earth, their choice would 
not be made in the false glare of a theatre or ball-room. Till 
death divide you, would ring perpetually in their souls. In 
the light of day they would choose, and by the light of God's 
Word they would try their partner, seek the advice of Christian 
friends, and not join hands until they were sure of the divine 
Amen. 

1 1 Matt. xix. 9. 



6 1. Marriage is a Mystery. 409 

61. 

jJHamage is a JHgsterg. 

&m? /fcrczYj- Himself to man in wedlock's ties ; 
Oh do not then the holy state despise : 
And if its real beauty thou wouldst see, 
Let that great marriage thine ensample be. 

Eph. v. 21-33. " Submitting yourselves one to another in the 
fear of God. Wives, submit yourselves unto your own 
husbands, as unto the Lord. For the husband is the 
head of the wife, even as Christ is the Head of the Church : 
and He is the Saviour of the body. Therefore as the 
Church is subject unto Christ, so let the wives be to their 
own husbands in everything. Husbands, love your wives, 
even as Christ also loved the Church, and gave Himself 
for it ; that He might sanctify and cleanse it with the 
washing of water by the Word, that He might present it 
to Himself a glorious Church, not having spot, or wrinkle, 
or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without 
blemish. So ought men to love their wives as their own 
bodies. He that loveth his wife loveth himself. For no 
man ever yet hated his own flesh ; but nourisheth and 
cherisheth it, even as the Lord the Church : for we are 
members of His body, of His flesh, and of His bones, 
For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, 
and shall be joined unto his wife, and they two shall be 
one flesh. This is a great mystery : but I speak concern- 
ing Christ and the Church. Nevertheless let every one 
of you in particular so love his wife even as himself; and 
the wife see that she reverence her husband." 

HOW indescribable the majesty here assigned to marriage 
in being set forth as an image of the bond by which 
Jesus and His Church are connected ! " Yea," says Luther, 



410 6i. Marriage is a Mystery. 

" so highly does God esteem the marriage state, that by His 
only Son He has implicated Himself in its bonds, and thereby 
been united to us." It is impossible but that every Christian 
must keep marriage holy and undefiled, and guard against all 
lewdness and other sin, according to the exhortation of St 
Paul, " This is the will of God, even your sanctification, that 
every one of you should know how to possess his vessel in 
sanctification and honour." 1 I repeat, no Christian who has 
recognised in wedlock the type of the Lord's sacred espousal 
to the Church, can fail to keep it holy and undefiled. " It is 
a great mystery," says the apostle, signifying that the words in 
which holy Scripture speaks of the marriage bond depict at 
the same time the deep-felt love with which the Lord has de- 
voted Himself to His Church and become one flesh with it. 

Why, then, O men, do you still seek for rules and precepts 
to guide your conduct in married life so as to be acceptable to 
God, seeing that you have before you the sacred and revered 
example of Jesus Christ loving His Church even unto death ? 
And, ye women, why do ye also ask for direction how to be- 
come good wives in humility and obedience, when you have 
before you the worthy example of the Christian Church which 
has given itself as spouse to the Saviour ? " They two shall 
be one flesh," are the words of holy Scripture. Mark, then, 
first of all, as here foreshadowed in the case of Christ and the 
Church, how husband and wife may be made one flesh by 
love. Holy Scripture calls the Church Christ's body, as being 
" the fulness of Him that filleth all in all," 2 and by this name 
intimates that the two are wedded to each other in the same 
way as we see the soul and the body are, which have so 
thoroughly coalesced that nothing external can befall the body 
which the soul does not at the same time feel along with it ; 
and neither can the soul be either sick or healthy without 
infecting the body with its sickness or health. The apostle 
has also depicted the marriage of Christ and the Church under 
a different emblem, calling Him the Church's Head and the 
1 i Thess. iv. 3, 4. 2 Eph. i. 23. 



6i. Marriage is a Mystery. 41 1 

Church His members. Now there is no joy or sorrow experi- 
enced by the members which the head does not share ; and, 
on the other hand, if the noble head be sick, must not the 
whole body suffer with it ? The most obvious lesson, there- 
fore, which this high example proclaims is, that the love of 
husband and wife should be so great, that in regard to all good 
things, whether visible or invisible, there should be no question 
between them of mine and thine, but that whatever belongs to 
the one ought equally to be the other's, whether sweet or sour, 
good or bad. 

Although, however, the twain — soul and. body, head and 
members — have thus been made one, and neither can any 
longer continue apart and independent of the other, still their 
business and vocation are different, for to the soul and to the 
head pertains the right of government, whereas the appointed 
office of the body and members is to serve. Accordingly holy 
Scripture has everywhere assigned to the husband this prero- 
gative of the head, and has specially said of him that he is the 
" image and glory of God, but the woman is the glory of the 
man ; " 1 the reason being, that to the man more than to the 
woman has been given the ability to wield the sceptre with 
kingly spirit, and kingly power and might; whereas to the 
woman, as the man's helpmate, the duty is assigned of carry- 
ing out his ideas, aiding and serving him in the work and 
business of his life, and becoming in this way his image, just 
as he himself is the image of God. The meaning of the 
apostle is this : the man is already in himself a complete and 
entire human being, perfectly able to fulfil the end for which 
he is here on earth destined by God, as is shown us by the 
example of the Lord Jesus; the woman, however, as the 
apostle tells us, was created for the man's sake to do such 
things as are subservient to the completion of the work which 
he has to do. For this reason the apostle has also required 
that the woman shall have a badge of power (that is, of her 
husband's power) upon her head, 2 by which he means the veil, 
1 1 Cor. xi. 7. - 1 Cor. xi. 10. 



412 6 1 . Marriage is a Mystery. 

as the acknowledgment of her subordinate position, her weak- 
ness, and liability to fall. No less as regards things spiritual 
has the man been appointed to take the lead in knowledge 
and doctrine, as the apostle ordains, saying, " Let your women 
keep silence in the churches : for it is not permitted unto 
them to speak ; but they are commanded to be under obedi- 
ence, as also saith the law. And if they will learn anything, 
let them ask their husbands at home : for it is a shame for 
women to speak in the church." 1 In virtue, then, of these 
prerogatives, the man is the image of Jesus Christ, who, as He 
is the Head of the Church and the Saviour of the body, exer- 
cises the whole government of it, and prescribes to the mem- 
bers what they ought to do. And high and honourable, O 
men, is the post to which you have thus been preferred. Not 
in vain, however, has it been written, " Unto whomsoever 
much is given, of him shall be much required." For it is to 
you that the apostle addresses the following words : " Hus- 
bands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the Church, 
and gave Himself for it ; that He might sanctify and cleanse 
it with the washing of water by the Word, that He might pre- 
sent it to Himself a glorious Church, not having spot, or 
wrinkle, or any such thing ; but that it should be holy and 
without blemish. So ought men to love their wives as their 
own bodies." Do you know, then, O men, how it was that 
Christ the Lord loved the Church, when He came down from 
the glory of the Father, and for our sakes became poor; when 
He took upon Him our miserable flesh, emptied Himself 
wholly of His greatness, and then shed for us His holy and 
precious blood ? Well, is it a love like this with which you 
devote yourselves to your wives — these weaker vessels ? Do 
you seek to inspire their minds with great and divine thoughts ? 
Do you employ them in no other than divine works? Do 
you set before them a heavenly example, and with great humil- 
ity and kindness of heart do you forgive them and bear with 
their infirmities, endeavouring that the choice you have made 
1 i Cor. xiv. 34, 35. 



6i. Marriage is a Mystery. 413 

of them to be the partners of your life, may conduce at the 
same time to make them partakers of the everlasting and im- 
perishable life in God ? Observe, the wife is made subject to 
you by the divine Word ; but are not you made subject to the 
wife by love ? And if you essay to love after the example of 
Christ the Lord, you must necessarily begin at the same time 
to serve, according to the words that once fell from His sacred 
lips, " The Son of Man came not to be ministered unto, but 
to minister ; " and just as His whole life was an incessant 
ministry of love, by which He sought to captivate the heart of 
His Church. Yes ; it is indeed a high and arduous post of 
honour to which you are promoted by the designation of head 
of the wife here conferred upon you by the Holy Spirit, even 
as Christ is the Head of the Church. 

On the other hand, O wives, be it your endeavour to win 
the affection of your husbands, as the Church does that of 
Christ. That which a Christian Church principally seeks is, 
to put away all that is its own, and to appropriate only what 
is the Lord's; to renounce the tastes and desires that are 
proper to itself; to have no business or vocation other than 
that which the Lord and Master has prescribed, and to count 
every behest of His its joy and pleasant food. Even so be it 
yours to abnegate whatever is your own, seeing that God has 
made you the helpers of your husbands, to have no business 
but theirs, and to do whatever you do for their sake. Yea, as 
your duty is to forget not only yourselves in their cause and 
for their interests, but likewise your father and mother, and 
sister and brother, does not this imply that you ought to 
become one flesh with them, just as they on their part are 
bound to forsake father and mother and cleave to you ? Inas- 
much, however, as the mutual propension which makes two 
hearts one may come from the flesh and not from the spirit, 
husband and wife should give heed to the words of the apostle, 
" Submitting yourselves to one another in the fear of God /" 1 
and to the lesson which he teaches in another passage, where 

1 Eph. v. 21. 



414 6i. Marriage is a Mystery. 

he says : " Neither is the man without the woman, neither the 
woman without the man, in the Lord. For as the woman is 
of the man, even so is the man also by the woman ; but all 
things of God." 1 For as thy husband, however good he may 
try to be, is not Christ the Lord, what is enjoined upon thee 
is not a blind obedience. God's service must go before that 
of all earthly masters ; and therefore before the service which 
is due by a wife to her husband and master. " Whether it be 
right in the sight of God to hearken unto you more than unto 
God, judge ye, ; ' 2 is what a Christian wife will have courage to 
say even to her husband, if he asks her to do anything which 
Christianity forbids, as the apostle Peter had courage to say 
it to his magistrates. This must not, however, be inter- 
preted in a carnal sense, as if at every unfair requirement it 
were right in the wife to resist the husband. The apostles 
only resisted the magistrates when required by them to sup- 
press the word of God and to keep silence; and even so 
a Christian wife is at liberty to refuse obedience only in things 
which her conscience tells her would imperil the salvation of 
her soul. Moreover, in respect that it does not pertain to the 
wife to teach but to seek doctrine and instruction from her 
husband, in the event of his subjecting her conscience to sore 
grievance, her duty would be to apply to intelligent friends 
and ministers for advice. In like manner, ye men ought not 
to be subject to your wives in the love that springs from the 
flesh, but solely in that which has its source in the spirit. 
And because the apostle was alive to the danger of loving 
a wife from a carnal motive, he, at a time when great hard- 
ships impended over Christians, dissuaded the brethren and 
sisters from marrying, because, as he said, " He that is un- 
married careth for the things that belong to the Lord, how he 
may please the Lord : but he that is married careth for the 
things that are of the world, how he may please his wife." 3 
Conjugal affection owes its origin not singly and solely to the 
Holy Spirit, but partly to the fact that human beings, by their 
1 i Cor. xi. ii, 12. 2 Acts, iv. 19. 3 1 Cor. vii. 32, 33. 



6 1. Marriage is a Mystery. 415 

natural constitution, and rank, and mode of life, are adapted 
for each other — which is another evidence of the hand of God, 
and of His intention to bring them together. It is possible, 
therefore, that the husband and likewise the wife may choose 
to be mutually complaisant and helpful, solely from such 
natural attachment, whereas both have but one Master, at 
whose service they ought chiefly to aim, even in serving one 
another. Let married persons, therefore, in all things " prove 
what is that good and acceptable will of God." l 

If there be any who entertain conscientious scruples about 
the lawfulness of marriage, whether founded upon the apostle's 
words, " concerning the things whereof ye wrote unto me," 2 
(I answer) a It is good for a man not to touch a woman. Never- 
theless, to avoid fornication, let every man have his own wife, 
and let every woman have her own husband : " 3 or upon the 
words of our Lord, — " There be eunuchs, which have made 
themselves eunuchs for the kingdom of heaven's sake. He 
that is able to receive it, let him receive it : " 4 or upon the 
fact that our blessed Lord and Master did not Himself enter 
into the state of matrimony, — the following considerations 
ought to be weighed. In the first place, as regards the ex- 
ample of our Saviour, it cannot be conceived that, possessing 
as He did such immeasurable perfection, He could possibly 
have found a friend, and far less a wife, fit in a human sense 
to be His other half. In the second place, His divine heart 
was far too great to have any need of such a helper, or to be 
satisfied with any single soul. Rather had He from the begin- 
ning espoused for His bride a great Church, which no man 
can number, even the vast multitude of those who should 
believe in His name. And this Church has been not only 
His bride, but His posterity : His bride, to whom it was His 
pleasure to betroth and unite Himself in wedlock ; His pos- 
terity, of whom it is written, " He shall see His seed, and the 

1 Rom. xii. 2. 

2 They had asked his opinion on the subject of marriage in general. 

3 1 Cor. vii. i, 2. 4 Matt. xix. 12. 



4*6 61. Marriage is a Mystery. 

pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in His hand." x For being 
the High Priest of the New Testament, He had a heart that 
was utterly consumed by loving zeal for the redemption and 
spiritual regeneration of the unnumbered miserable souls with 
whom He had entered into actual wedlock by taking upon 
Him their flesh and blood. And now, among His followers, 
there is many a priestly soul whose vocation here on earth is 
to beget only a spiritual offspring ; and such are they of whom 
He says that they have made themselves eunuchs for the king- 
dom of heaven's sake, having been inclined neither by the 
flesh nor the spirit to devote themselves solely to a single 
heart. No private Christian, however, let him be as pious as 
he may, can either take on or choose for himself so priestly and 
spiritual a frame of mind ; and this the Lord expresses when 
He says, " He that is able to receive it, let him receive it." 
And to the same purpose as his Master the apostle has said, 
" If they cannot contain, let them marry ; for it is better to 
marry than to burn." 2 And again, " Every man has his proper 
gift of God, one after this manner, and another after that." 3 
What he means is, that no one ought to plume himself on 
account of such a gift, or fancy that it alone raises him above 
all others in the kingdom of God, inasmuch as it rather is 
quite a peculiar gift, and, on the other hand, other gifts may be 
given to other men and in other ways, which are quite as excellent. 
If, again, the scruple as to marriage rests upon the manifold 
sins which are committed in it, such as anger, impatience, 
and, above all, carnal indulgence, and if that is thought reason 
enough why the child of God ought to remain unmarried, it 
must be considered that, being the most ancient of all states, 
and an institution of God Himself, it cannot possibly be worse 
than any other. On the contrary, the Epistle to the Hebrews 
declares that " marriage is honourable in all ; " 4 and St Paul 
speaks in strong terms against the prohibition of it, saying, 
" The Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some 
shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, 

1 Isa. liii. 10. 2 i Cor. vii. 9. 3 1 Cor. vii. 7. 4 Heb. xiii. 4. 



6i. Marriage is a Mystery. 417 

and doctrines of devils ; speaking lies in hypocrisy ; having 
their conscience seared with a hot iron ; forbidding to marry." 1 
Against such teachers Luther also inveighs, saying : " It is 
admitted by all that the life of married persons is not wholly 
pure and sinless ; but, on the other hand, tell me what other 
divinely-instituted state is without sin. On the same principle 
I ought never to preach a sermon ; no man or maid ought 
to enter into service; the magistrate ought not to wield the 
sword, nor the nobleman to mount his horse. In this earthly 
life we shall never be so pure as to perform any work without 
sin. The article, ' I believe in the forgiveness of sin J must 
keep its place in the Creed; and the petition in the Lord's 
Prayer, ' Forgive us our debts] must be daily used. Thou 
mayst be certain, therefore, that neither in respect of thy 
spiritual nor bodily man has God elected thee to belong to 
the priestly souls, who have nothing else on earth to do but 
to serve Him and advance His cause. Do not, therefore, let 
thy conscience trouble thee about a state of life which God 
instituted in Paradise, and which in truth may become above 
many, nay, above all other states, a school of moderation and 
patience, and especially of ministering charity." 

O Thou chaste and holy Priest, who, even while sojourning 
here upon earth, and wearing our flesh and blood, didst cherish 
only a spiritual love, sanctify our natural love that it may be 
more and more spiritualised. Free it from all defilement, im- 
purity of heart, selfishness, and obduracy. Teach us to love 
each other as Thou hast loved us. Oh, how well in the state 
of marriage may the selfish heart expand and fuse itself into 
another ! How in this special school may it daily and hourly 
learn submissively to minister and affectionately to obey ! 
Make us, O Thou heavenly and holy Love, helpers to each 
other for the life eternal. Our desire is to be so by mutual 
admonition when deviating from the right way, by confessing 
in Thy presence wherein we lack resemblance to Thine image, 
by strengthening each other for prayer and supplication, and 

1 1 Tim. iv. 1-3. 
2 D 



41 8 62. Fear the Lord, and it shall 

encouraging to those works of compassion and charity which 
are acceptable to Thee. We desire, O holy High Priest, to 
please each other better only by seeking to be more pleasing 
to Thee. We feel that in proportion as our love and devoted- 
ness to Thee increase, so likewise does our love to each other. 
The flame burns with a pure and heavenly brightness, and 
melts and blends our hearts more closely into one. What 
cannot be overcome, what cannot be borne, when hearts are 
linked together in Thee ! Help us, O Lord, to love each 
other in Thy love. 



62. 

jFear tfje Horto, attti it gtfjall fa foell fcritjj tfjee anb tijg fkuse. 

A house, if founded in the fear 
Of God, aloft its top will rear, 

And touch the very sky. 
For as the happy inmates breathe 
Celestial air the roof beneath, 

They must to heaven be nigh. 

Psalm cxxviii. i. " Blessed is every one that feareth the Lord ; 
that walketh in His ways." 

HERE we have the living fountain of the blessing which 
rests upon the conjugal and domestic state. When 
worldly prudence attempts to choose a wife and form a house- 
hold, it can apply its hand only to so much of the work as has 
its seat upon earth, and is visible to the eye of sense. It builds, 
so to speak, the first and the second story, adds cornice and 
pediment, and the fabric presents a fair appearance — but it has 
no foundation. Whenever you see the household of a married 
pair continuing to defy every storm, you may be sure that it 



be well with thee and thy House. 419 

rests upon a sure foundation, lying beyond the reach of human 
sense, and that that foundation is the fear of the Lord. To the 
fear of the Lord, therefore, the holy Psalmist has wisely given 
a place in front of this beautiful psalm, which celebrates the 
blessing that descends upon conjugal and domestic life. It is 
as if he wished to say to all, Friends, he who would see a 
flourishing tree with widespread branches and ample foliage, 
must first of all take care to have it well rooted in the ground. 
And in like manner, if thou desire — and none can desire a 
worthier object — to have a wife as a fruitful vine by the sides 
of thine house, and children like olive-plants round about thy 
table, to eat abundantly of the labour of thy hands, and to 
bequeath to thy children's children an after-enjoyment of the 
blessing, set about vigorously to pray that the Spirit of God 
may, above all other things, implant a right fear in thy heart, 
that so in all the concerns of thy station and married life thou 
mayst never be found walking on other ways than those which 
are pleasing in the Lord's sight. Long ago they used to 
sing- 
Seek God in every word and deed, 
And all you do will well succeed ; 
But if you try another plan, 
Your luck will end where it began. 

Verse 2. " For thou shalt eat the labour of thine hands : happy 
shalt thou be, and it shall be well with thee." 

" It is not," says Luther, " the leather that feeds the cobbler, 
nor the crop the farmer, nor his sermons the preacher. These 
are but the means and appliances by which God provides them 
with food." In like manner it is the divine will that the labour 
of the husband should establish the household • and this labour, 
when exercised in obedience to God, is a daily sacrifice of 
praise, which man and wife working together present to Him 
as a sweet-smelling savour from morn to night. More than 
this, it serves, like the flap which drives midges away, to expel 
from the mind, especially of married people, the unprofitable 



420 62. Fear the Lord, and it shall 

thoughts and foolish talk which the flesh might otherwise breed. 
It is, no doubt, the curse and penalty of sin that man must eat 
his bread in the sweat of his countenance ; but, as in so many 
other instances, so likewise in this has Christ the Lord con- 
verted the curse into a blessing ; and now the labour, which a 
Christian man cheerfully commences with prayer and finishes 
to the glory of God, does nothing but bless both his temporal 
and spiritual life. For this reason ought every Christian not 
merely to take home the admonition of the son of Sirach, 
" Hate not laborious work, neither husbandry, which the Most 
High hath ordained; " 2 but rather, while his hands are busy, to 
thank and praise God for having by his dear Son changed that 
which was an evil into a good. Mark how cheerfully the Word 
of God here calls aloud to man, while sweating and fretting 
with discontented mind over his daily task, " Happy shalt thou 
be, and it shall be well wtih thee. 1 ' Inasmuch, then, as there 
can be no deception in the words which the Holy Spirit 
addresses to the numerous host of God's children, who are 
bearing the burden and heat of the day, there must of necessity 
be a pearl concealed in the cup, although it often seems very 
bitter to the taste. Yes, and to myself I will now say, " It is 
well with thee ;" even though thy hand and cheek are glowing 
hot, and the sweat is dripping from thy brow : in spite of all 
thy toil " it is well with thee ;" for, being as thou art a recon- 
ciled child of God, thy labour is a sacrifice of obedience with 
which the Father is well pleased, and which He will cause to 
prosper, so that it shall issue in good to thyself, to thy family — 
yea, to thy fellow-men, both in town and country. 

Verse 3. " Thy wife shall be as a fruitful vine by the sides 
of thine house : thy children like olive-plants round about 
thy table." 

How plainly in these words the royal Psalmist shows that 
God is not hostile to an honourable marriage, but makes it 

1 Ecclus. vii. 15. 



be well with thee and thy House. 42 1 

bear unspeakably precious fruit ! This he does in two beautiful 
emblems, in which he compares the wife to a vine and the 
children to the olive. These are the noblest among the trees, 
and it is from them that the two choicest juices are derived. 
Just as a vine climbs to the top of a house, fastens to it on all 
sides, and at every window and door offers its sweet and spark- 
ling clusters ; even so, the Psalmist here tells us, does a wife 
in this so poor and feeble, so hot and toilsome, life of ours, 
offer for the refreshment of an industrious husband pleasant 
fruits of every sort and in every way. Indeed no language 
could more beautifully depict how great and desirable a good 
a faithful wife is to her husband. And just as olive-branches 
placed around a banqueting-table diffuse verdure and freshness, 
and give to the food a double relish, so do his children impart 
life and spirit to the mid-day meal, and the father is recruited 
from his fatigue, and keenly enjoys his daily bread, even 
although sweetened by nothing else. Let the reader, however, 
be careful to note what in the first verse is laid as the foundation 
of such happiness. For be assured, that if a household is not 
founded in the fear of the Lord, nor their walk well-pleasing in 
His sight, a lamentable contrast to it all will ensue. In place 
of a vine thy wife will become a thistle-head, which will sting 
thee on whatsoever side it is taken hold of ; and thy children 
nettles, which will burn thee wherever thou comest into contact 
with them. And as when the dam gives way the waters brook 
no control, so who can control the variance which breaks out 
in a family between husband and wife, or between parents and 
children, as break out it inevitably will when the fear of God 
is cast behind, for none but they who fear God ever try to be 
peacemakers. It is written of an angry man, that " a stone is 
heavy and the sand weighty, but a fool's wrath is heavier than 
them both. Wrath is cruel, and anger is outrageous." 1 And 
of a bad wife it is said, " I had rather dwell with a lion and a 
dragon, than to keep house with a wicked woman. All wicked- 
ness is but little to the wickedness of a woman." 2 The mean- 

1 Prov. xxvii. 3, 4. 2 Ecclus. xxv. 16, 19. 



422 62. Fear the Lord, and it shall 

ing is the same when Solomon avers, " A continual dropping 
on a rainy day and a contentious woman are alike." 1 For 
these reasons, let him who has yet to choose a partner set about 
in the true fear of God, and then the Lord will give him one 
who will become as a vine round about his house. " House 
and riches," says the wise man, " are the inheritance of fathers ; 
but a prudent wife is from the Lord." 2 And again : " Favour 
is deceitful, and beauty is vain ; but a woman that feareth the 
Lord, she shall be praised." 3 

Verse 4. " Behold, that thus shall the man be blessed that 
feareth the Lord." 

If, then, thy heart be set upon obtaining such a blessing, be 
sure to make the fear of the Lord the foundation on which 
thou rearest the fabric of thy conjugal state ; and in order that 
thy marriage may be blessed, ask God to make the match, and 
Christ to be a guest at the wedding, as He once was at that 
in Cana. He will then be a third party in the contract ; and 
wherever He is present there cannot fail to be also a blessing. 
And if thou art conscious of receiving it, forget not to express 
to Him thy gratitude. To the unbelieving eye, the fact that 
thou hast a wife and children, and eatest the labour of thy 
hands, appears to be the work of nature ; but he who has the 
eye of faith sees nothing in it but the blessing of the Lord, 
and cannot cease presenting to Him oblations of thankfulness 
and praise. The more he cherishes a believing frame of mind, 
and discerns in wife and child the imprint of a divine gift, the 
more does he endeavour to discharge the gratitude of his heart 
in good works. The sight of his wife — the goodly vine — recalls 
to his mind the beautiful proverb of our pious fathers, — 

Hold thou thy married wife 
Dear as thy very life. 
She will thy goods protect, 
And win for thee respect, 
And be thy faithful friend 
Till death thy days shall end. 

1 Prov. xxyii. 15. 2 Prov. xix. 14. 3 Prov. xxxi. 30. 



be well with thee and thy House. 423 

And when he looks upon his olive-plants — the children — he 

says, — 

Come ye, who great and mighty are, 
Oh, come and humbly minister 

To the yet stainless child ; 
And deem not this an office mean, 
For heavenly angels watch unseen 

Around the undefiled. 



Verse 5. " The Lord shall bless thee out of Zion : and thou 
shalt see the good of Jerusalem." 

So then, as here we learn, cities are built up by the families 
whom the Lord blesses. How high in His favour must stand 
the married pair who fear Him, seeing that on their account 
He promotes the good of cities, and for the sake of the vine 
and olive-branches which thou hast at home upholds kings and 
magistrates, and gives peace, more precious than gold, to the 
land ! It is true that the Almighty strengthens the hands of 
civil governors by special methods known only to Himself, 
and yet any one can observe how peace and the blessing from 
on high, when they have first entered into private families, 
help also to fortify the thrones of princes. For it certainly is 
the case, as the apostle has said, that " if a man know not how 
to rule his own house, how shall he take care of the Church of 
God ? " 1 It is impossible that peace can dwell in the land, or 
encompass the throne, unless with a blessing in its train it 
dwell in private houses. And no small advantage is it when, 
for the sake of thy pious household, God is pleased to build 
up the king's throne, and bestow the gift of peace on the whole 
land. For what would it profit thee though thy house were 
filled with all manner of good things, and though thy wife 
were as a vine and thy children like olive-plants, if every villain 
had the power to lay violent hands upon them ? Well does 
the German proverb show how precious a gift is peace when it 
says that the head of a family, if possessed of two cows, does 

1 1 Tim. iii. 5. 



424 62. Fear the Lord, and it shall 

well to part with one of them in order to be able to keep and 
reap undisturbed the good of the other. 

And you great and mighty ones, who occupy the seat of 
government in a land, well would it be were you more seriously 
to consider by what means the honour and sanctity of the 
married state would best be maintained, seeing, as you here 
do, that for the sake of a husband and wife, who fear God and 
rightly govern their household, the divine grace promises its 
blessings to whole countries. 

Verse 6. " Yea, thou shalt see thy children's children, and 
peace upon Israel." 

The Psalmist, desiring to sum up all the good things with 
which God blesses wedlock when conducted in His fear, and 
to depict all the joy with which it is crowned, does not omit 
to speak of the supreme delight vouchsafed to parents when 
they see their seed multiplied after them ; for if they have suc- 
ceeded in sowing the fear of God in their children, they then 
also behold how every seed bears fruit, in some ten, and in 
some an hundred fold. Oh what a blessing it is when in the 
evening of his days an aged Simeon lays himself down upon 
the bed of languishing, and when the olive-branches which he 
once planted, and which have since themselves become fruit- 
ful stocks, assemble around him with all their little shoots, and 
his spirit departs in peace, upborne by the prayers of the many 
souls whom he himself first taught to pray ! 

O blessed household, which as with a wreath 

The/ear of God entwines ! O life that flows 
Calm and unruffled by the tempest's breath, 

Alike as when unclouded sunshine glows ; 
For at the sacred spell around it thrown, 
The awe-struck storm forgets its angry groan. 
Say, how can heart with heart have true communion 

Till in God's heart they both their centre find ? 
The spirits' Father 1 gives to spirits union, 

And tunes to harmony the wiil and mind. 



1 Heb. xii. 



be well with thee and thy House. 425 

'Tis only when a common stem they grace, 
That two fair rosebuds mutually embrace. 

And must not peace find in that house a home 
Where reigns one sovereign will without dispute, 

Giving discretion for command to some, 
To others skill, and strength to execute ; 

So that, even in this world of strife, we see 

How heavenly angels dwell in unity ? 

They ply their several tasks, but unattended 

By irksomeness of toil is all they do. 
It is as if some angel had descended 

To ease their burdens, and their strength renew. 
The curse that mingles sweat with toil is gone, 
And from above the Lord rains blessings down. 

O happy house ! O life like that in heaven, 

W\\\ifear of God as with a garland crowned ! 
Let first of all the heart to Him be given, 

Ere earthly idols there a shrine have found ; 
And should affection's stream in us run dry, 
He from the fountain will the lack supply. 



63. 

Suffer little Cfjtloren to come unto flfte. 

Thou sayest, The babe is MINE, 

/'// train him as I list ; 
But, sure, ere he was thine, 

He appertained to Christ. 
And wilt thou not a charge so dear, 

For Him who lent it to thee, rear ? 

Psalm cxxvii. 3. " Lo, children are an heritage of the 
Lord : and the fruit of the womb is His reward." 

MatT. xix. 14. "Suffer little children, and forbid them not, 
to come unto me; for of such is the kingdom of heaven." 

Eph. vi. 4. "Ye fathers, provoke not your children to 



426 63. Suffer little Children to come tmto Me. 

wrath ; but bring them up in the nurture and admonition 
of the Lord." 

" TV /T ANY children make many prayers, and many prayers 
1VX bring much blessing." Yes, verily, when we reflect 
how highly God must esteem the man to whom He gives chil- 
dren, we see that there ought to be no end of prayer and sup- 
plication and thanksgiving. That He has sent children into 
a house is of itself a sufficient reason for Him to send His 
blessing too. To give existence and life is a work which the 
divine Majesty has usually reserved to Himself. What, then, 
shall we think of giving existence and life to an immortal bei?ig 
made in the divine image ! How dreadful that so excellent a 
grace is by men contaminated with sin, so high a prerogative 
dishonoured in the service of lust ! If mere existence in this 
present world is of no worth, unless the present world become 
a training-school for the world to come, how audacious to be- 
stow an earthly existence upon a human spirit without a seri- 
ous purpose, formed in the sight of God, of training it for 
heaven! He commits a wrong who becomes a father and 
does not at the same time undertake the sacred duty of rearing 
his child for eternity. 

What the Lord has affirmed concerning them ought to be 
enough of itself to make the care of the young one of the 
holiest occupations in life. Once when the Twelve were dis- 
puting with each other which of them should be the greatest, 
He took a child and set him in the midst of them : and when 
He had taken him in His arms, He said unto them : " Who- 
soever shall receive one of such children in my name, receiveth 
me : and whosoever shall receive me, receiveth not me, but 
Him that sent me." Y On another occasion He put His hands 
on the children, and prayed and said : " Suffer little children, 
and forbid them not, to come unto me ; for of such is the 
kingdom of heaven." 2 "Verily I say unto you, Whosoever 
shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child shall in 

1 Mark, ix. 36, 37. 2 Matt. xix. 14. 



6$. Suffer little Children to come unto Me. 427 

no wise enter therein." 1 No doubt some who pretend to be 
masters of Scripture have wrongly interpreted these sayings, 
inferring from them that the Lord looked upon little children 
as being in all respects spotless and perfect, like the blessed 
angels in heaven ; but it is said that Adam begat children " in 
his own likeness, after his image," 2 and in Adam the image of 
God was then defaced. If the Lord have set them up as a 
pattern to us in one respect, He has not done so in all, and 
Paul writes : " Brethren, be not children in understanding." 3 
What the Lord loved in the little ones was, their knowing so 
well that they cannot stand upon their own feet, but must seek 
wisdom and strength and welfare at their mother's bosom. Of 
a like disposition were the persons whom he enlisted in His 
service, and only such as these have admission into the king- 
dom of heaven. Not a few interpreters suppose that He spake 
also of children when He said, " Whoso shall offend one of 
these little ones which believe in me, it were better for him 
that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he were 
drowned in the depth of the sea;" 4 and again, in a subsequent 
verse, — "Take heed that ye despise not one of these little 
ones ; for I say unto you, That in heaven their angels do 
always behold the face of my Father which is in heaven." 5 In 
my opinion, however, when He so spake, He had in His eye 
those of His disciples who possessed a childlike frame of mind, 
and who clung to His breast as children do to a mother's ; for 
He specifies " one of these little ones which believe in nie." In- 
asmuch, however, as such disciples have the same disposition 
spiritually which little children have naturally, it may doubtless 
be said that they both belong to the same family, and that 
therefore it ought not to be forbidden to apply to the one 
what has been affirmed of the other. 

According, therefore, to the word of Christ Himself, the 
jewel in the souls of children is the sacred trustfidness with 
which they look to their parents for strength and counsel and 

1 Luke, xviii. 17. 2 Gen. v. 3. 3 1 Cor. xiv. 20. 

4 Matt, xviii. 6. 5 Matt, xviii. 10. 



4 2 8 63. Suffer little Children to come unto Me. 

help ; and what He desires is, that they who love Him should 
repose in Him a similar trust, and such a trust for certain He 
will never deceive. Is it possible, then, that any parents who 
are leaning on the bosom of the Saviour with the same reliance 
with which their children lean upon theirs, and who are con- 
strained to confess that He never gave them a stone when they 
asked for bread, — is it possible, I repeat, that such parents can 
ever prevail upon themselves to give to their children in place 
of bread a stone, and in place of a fish a serpent ? Oh no, is 
the answer from the heart of every father and every mother. 
Oh no, they cry, and yet they do it. For this, in fact, is done 
by all who leave untutored, or at least without the nurture and 
admonition of the Lord, the early age when children cling to 
parents with absolute confidence, and ever seek to catch their 
eye, as if imploring, Do you guide us, for we cannot guide our- 
selves. What else is the eye of your child constantly directed 
to yours, and confidently endeavouring to read what he ought 
to do, but a perpetual petition to the effect, Give, oh give me 
spiritual bread ? And when, in place of giving them that, you 
leave them without the nurture and admonition of the Lord, 
or any direction as to the way in which they ought to go, you 
really give them what the Scripture calls, " offence;" meaning 
by the term, an occasion of temptation and fall. And think 
what the Lord has said respecting those who offend a youthful 
soul, whether it be a disciple or a child. He has said, that to 
be drowned in the lowest depths of the sea, which was the 
severest punishment inflicted upon criminals in this present 
world, would still be light when compared with that which is 
reserved for them in the world to come. Alas ! it would be 
impossible to number the parents and teachers who, according 
to this saying, would certainly perish, were there not comfort 
in the thought that they know not what they do. 

It goes to one's heart to see a young tree which, while still 
slender and soft, might have been trained to grow straight and 
bear fruit, and show a beautiful head, abandoned instead as a 
prey to insects of every kind, and left exposed to injuries of 



63. Suffer little Children to come unto Me. 429 

the weather and the rough hand of the forest thief. It is a 
terribly earnest saying, that to corrupt a child is as great a crime 
as to seduce a maid. Yes, for the souls of children are virgin 
souls ; and if the angels, who see the face of God, are not 
ashamed to minister to them, how can men, — how can you 
who are parents and teachers, be negligent in such a service ? 
In fact, if it be right to speak of meriting a divine reward, there 
is no merit so enviable as that of saving the soul of a child. 
The noblest of all missions is into the world of youth. This 
is the field which yields the increase of an hundred-fold. 

Now, what we require to give to children we must ourselves 
first of all possess. The least of such gifts is daily bread, and 
with respect to it man is not worse off than the beast of the 
field and the fowl of the air. Kin cleaves to kin, and the tree 
does not disown its own fruit. 

Poor though she be, a mother's arm 
Will shield her babe from cold and harm. 

And so parents take thought for the daily bread of their 
children, and provide it, not merely for the present, but even 
for the future. Here, however, the devil lays for them a special 
snare ; for in how many cases do we find that a niggardly spirit 
enters the house along with the children ? But if there be truth 
in Luther's saying, that God, who is rich, allots to every child 
committed to a parent an inheritance of its own, into possession 
of which it infallibly comes, whether the parents live or die, 
prosper in the world or come to poverty, — why wilt thou not 
rather say to thy children as Luther did to his, " I do not leave 
you riches, but I leave you a rich God"? How large soever 
may be the treasures which, by scrimping from morn to night, 
you may accumulate for your children, they will be a far smaller 
fortune than if you bequeathed to them a true and simple and 
sincere faith in the rich God of heaven. 

The next thing which children are entitled to receive from 
parents is education and training for the station in life to which 
they are called. If it be true that next to the wife of his heart 



430 63. Suffer little Children to come unto Me. 

a man can find no greater good upon earth than a profession 
which he loves, and if this be a matter upon which parents 
have to decide for their children, how great the responsibility 
which it involves ! What is it, then, that generally determines 
the choice which parents make ? Is it a serious attention to 
the voice of God, uttering itself in the circumstances and outward 
relations, but most of all in the capacity, of the child ? Alas ! 
in how many cases is it not caprice, or unbelieving parsimo?ty, 
or ostentation, or conceit, which decide the point ? How many 
have been thrown into a false career by the mere whim of 
having the son take the father's place ? How many by infidel 
niggardness, which insisted on seeing before it would trust, and 
how many more by pride? There is truth in the proverb — 

■ ' Pity the man who takes in hand 
The task he does not understand, 
And what he could do lets alone, — 
No wonder he is soon undone." 

Many have thus been shipwrecked, and frequently has it been 
the parents' fault. And yet, when the powers and capacities of 
the youth prove insufficient for the calling into which he was 
forced solely by their conceit, how often do they, in place of 
condemning themselves, revile God, and cry out that nature 
had neglected and been a stepmother to their child ! whereas you 
yourselves have been the stepmothers, and would not listen to 
God's voice, who never meant your son to be an instrument 
for accomplishing great and mighty things. You grieve when 
your infant, in place of being hale and sound, comes into the 
world a cripple, and you would deem it the height of cruelty 
to make a cripple of him yourselves ; and yet, ye proud and 
unbelieving parents, in the vanity that consumes you, make 
your children cripples in mind ! For just as an instrument is 
put out of shape when pushed into a case which does not fit it, 
so may a man's whole nature be crippled and distorted when 
he is forced into a profession for which God never designed 
him. By such conduct foolish parents sin against their children, 
whose minds they deform — against God, to whose voice they 



63. Suffer little Children to come unto Me. 431 

do not listen — and against their fellow-men, who are defrauded 
of the benefit of talents which might otherwise have profitably 
ministered to them. 

The chief and peculiar gift, however, due by parents to 
children, is the nurture of the inner man and tuition in the Word 
of God. It is written, " The Lord said, Shall I hide from Abra- 
ham that thing which I do ; seeing that Abraham shall surely 
become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the 
earth shall be blessed in him? For I know him, that he will 
command his children and his household after him, and they shall 
keep the way of the Lord, to do justice and judgment" 1 So 
highly did God esteem in His servant Abraham the bringing 
up of his children in piety ! In this way, by the mere educa- 
tion of their offspring, may parents earn for themselves heaven 
or hell. In the passage where the apostle says of the woman, 
— " Notwithstanding she shall be saved in child-bearing, if they 
continue in faith and charity and holiness with sobriety," 2 he 
does not speak merely of bringing children into the world, but 
of what that infers — viz., their up-bringing and tuition; for he 
supposes that the mother herself continues in the faith, and, as 
a consequence, also understands the right way of bringing them 
up. Yes, fathers and mothers, to no teacher in the whole 
world has the task of making Christians of your children been 
made so easy as to you ; for if confidence is a stretched-out 
hand, towards whom is the hand of a child stretched out more 
than towards his parents? You would count it a crime to 
offer them, when they are hungry and ask of you earthly bread, 
nothing at all, or perhaps a stone ; and would it be no crime 
if, when they held out their hand for spiritual bread, you were 
to give them nothing, or, what is worse than nothing, falsehood 
in place of truth ? Recollect that the worldly and sceptical 
spirit has not as yet interposed its bar, so that in the breast of 
a child holy truths may be lodged and take root so firmly that 
no wind of doubt or worldly pleasure shall ever be able to 
extirpate them. The season of childhood, however, passes 
1 Gen. xviii. 17-19. 2 1 Tim. ii. 15. 



432 63. Staffer little Children to come unto Me. 

away, and is succeeded by one in which there are no longer 
open doors in the mind for faith to enter. You must not, how- 
ever, merely teach religion, you must show it to your children, 
and make your life their school-book. Of a truth the child 
who in seasons of deep affliction has learned from the example 
of his father or mother what it is to pray, will never in after- 
years, even though he may deviate very far from the path of 
truth, entertain a mean opinion of the power of prayer. At a 
more advanced stage of life he may make the acquaintance of 
pious men, but then doubts of their sincerity will always intrude. 
If, however, a child, until he has reached a riper age, has in 
his father's house witnessed the fear of God pervading, con- 
trolling, and animating all that was done, never more will he 
be able to doubt that piety is a great blessing and a truth. 
With whatever violence sceptical theories may assail him, still, 
just as no one can be brought by the most subtle arguments 
to doubt the reality of the material world around him, so no 
one who in his childhood has been privileged to gaze into 
the paradise of a pious life, can ever doubt of its existence ; 
whereas he who has not yet entered it may hear it so depre- 
ciated and absurdly spoken of that he will never enter it 
at all. 

Beware, ye who are parents, of harsh severity ; but beware, also, 
of lax indulgence. " It is God's will," as Luther tells us, " that 
we should honour Him in two ways — the one, by loving Him 
as a father on account of the benefits He has bestowed or will 
bestow ; the other, by fearing Him as a judge, who has punished 
us already and will do so again. For this reason it is that by 
the mouth of the prophet He says : ' If, then, I be a father, 
where is my love ? 1 and if I be a master, where is my fear ? ' 2 
Fathers are an image of God ; and being both fathers and 
masters of their children, they ought to be both loved and 
feared." In former days, no doubt, it was too much the practice 
of fathers to govern by fear, especially among the heathen, 
where they exercised the right of putting their children to death. 
1 Luther's vers. 2 Mai. i. 6. 



63. Suffer little Children to come unto Me. 433 

And it is for this reason that the apostle addresses to fathers, 
who were of heathen origin, the special exhortation " not to 
provoke their children to wrath." 1 To the same purpose 
Luther also says : " The child that has once been intimidated 
and disheartened is rendered useless for everything, and fears 
and trembles whatever he is called upon to do or attempt ; 
and what is worse, if timidity have been allowed to take hold 
of his mind in childhood, there will be difficulty in rooting it 
out in his whole after-life ; for as he was wont to quake at every 
word of father and mother, he will continue to tremble at the 
rustling of a leaf." In another passage he also says, " Children 
ought not to be too severely beaten. My father once beat me 
so severely that I fled from his sight, and sulked at him until he 
used means to reconcile me." Often, too, have pious parents 
gone astray by attempting to force the piety of their children 
by legal means, enjoining upon them prayer, and reading the 
Bible, and going to church, too exclusively as mere external 
works, and not reflecting that the piety of the young cannot 
wear the same serious face as that of the old. In this way they 
have embittered the cheerful sports of their boys and girls, and 
so hindered them, when grown up to be young men and women, 
from acquiring any experience of the world. A piety that has 
thus been made to wear a rueful countenance in youth has 
often been followed by a feeble and spiritless manhood, or has 
broken out into knavery in after years. Upon this subject, 
likewise, Luther, who was so great a foe to all hypocrisy, has 
beautifully said : " Here we have a king for our schoolmaster, 
and an excellent one he is. He does not forbid the young to 
go into company, or indulge in mirth, as the monks do with 
their disciples. In that case they would grow up mere dolts 
and blockheads, as even Anselm, who was the parent of mona- 
chism, has told us. For he says that a youth so tackled and 
secluded from society is like a fine young tree, which might 
have borne fruit had it not been planted in a pot. Monks 
imprisoned the young like birds in a cage, and thereby pre- 

1 Eph. vi. 4; Col. iii. 21. 
2 E 



434 63. Suffer little Children to come unto Me. 

vented them from seeing or hearing or talking with other per- 
sons. It is, however, dangerous for them to be thus left alone 
and cut off from society. They ought, on the contrary, to be 
allowed to hear and see and acquaint themselves with all man- 
ner of persons and things, in such sort, however, as to be kept 
in moderation and decency. Nothing is gained by monastic 
restraint. It is good for a young man to be much in company, 
provided at the same time he be trained up in integrity and 
virtue, and withheld from vice. The tyrannical constraint of 
monks is altogether hurtful ; for mirth and amusements are as 
needful to youths as meat and drink, and are likewise the means 
of keeping them in health." 

On the other hand, this age of ours has grown so soft and 
maidenish, that it will no longer suffer the rod to be used to 
children. According to the words of Luther, " False natural 
affection blinds parents to such a degree, that they care more 
for the flesh than for the souls of their offspring. It is, how- 
ever, of the highest necessity that every parent shall pay a far 
greater and deeper and more constant attention to the soul of 
his child than to the flesh, which has been derived from himself; 
and that he shall look upon him in no other light than as a 
costly and immortal treasure committed by God to his care, in 
order that it may be neither stolen nor destroyed by the devil 
or the flesh." The wise man of old has said that " he that 
spareth his rod hateth his son :. but he that loveth him chas- 
teneth him betimes." 1 "Thou shalt beat him with the rod, 
and shalt deliver his soul from hell." 2 And the son of Sirach 
says : " Cocker thy child, and he shall make thee afraid; play 
with him, and he will bring thee to heaviness ; laugh not with 
him, lest thou have sorrow with him, and lest thou gnash thy 
teeth in the end. Give him no liberty in his youth, and wink 
not at his follies. Bow down his neck while he is young, and 
beat him on the sides while he is a child, lest he wax stubborn, 
and be disobedient unto thee, and so bring sorrow to thine 
heart." 3 No doubt it is better if the end can be gained with- 

1 Prov. xiii. 24. 2 Prov. xxiii. 14. 3 Ecclus. xxx. 9-12. 



6$. Suffer little Children to come unto Me. 435 

out the use of the rod, for the human being has received from 
God an intelligent mind, and is capable of affection and confi- 
dence ; and the preferable way is to begin when he is young 
to govern him by the feelings of his heart. Naturally, however, 
children are more affected by impressions made upon the 
senses than by reasons addressed to the understanding, and it 
is also profitable and right to employ such impressions in aid 
of the word of exhortation. Besides, it accustoms the child 
to understand what retribution is. The mere enticements of 
love and kindness in the hands of the heavenly Father some- 
times fail of success with us, who are His perverse children, 
and so it behoves Him to have the rod always ready as well 
as the sweetmeats ; and far less shall we be able to forego the 
use of it towards our children. 

As soon, then, as a parent observes that being always good 
to his child is no longer doing the child good, he ought in all 
that relates to God and good morals wholly to forget that the 
child is his own flesh and blood, and to recollect that He, to 
whom the right to punish belongs, has put the rod into the 
hands of parents as well as of magistrates, and that it is their 
duty to use it — not, indeed, in the ebullition of carnal pas- 
sion, but in the name and for the service of the Most High. 
A great Emperor, Frederick II., once said, " I have sometimes 
repented of my severity, but never of my clemency." There is, 
however, reason to fear that in these days of ours parents will 
have to say the very contrary. A good intention is now thought 
to make so many things good, and yet it can never falsify what 
experience has proved, that " Well intended is oft lamented" 
Be persuaded, then, O parents ! not to follow so much the in- 
clinations of your heart, but rather the admonitions of holy 
Scripture, and in the training of the young prefer the Word and 
the law of God to all the suggestions of your own mind. 

Dear Master, if life is to go well with us who are advanced 
in years, vouchsafe once more true piety to our youth. The 
Christian Church is now using great exertion in the way of 
sending the Gospel by missions to the heathen, and that, also, 



43 ^ 63. Suffer little Children to come unto Me. 

is a work consistent with Thy holy will and commandment; 
but do Thou on that account all the more stir up among us 
who tarry at home, a warm zeal to institute missions without 
number among the young. Abroad Thy servants have much 
to do before they succeed in gaining the love and confidence 
of the heathen, and inducing them to inquire after the way of 
salvation ; whereas our children affectionately look up with 
eager eyes, expecting to receive from us the bread of life. 
Yes, verily, if the man who aspires to be a preacher would but 
consider how many useful sermons he might preach by con- 
versing more frequently with the little ones, and implanting 
divine truth more largely in their hearts, the kingdom of God 
might be built up among us much more effectually than has 
ever yet been done. Gracious God, incline Thy heart to our 
children ; take upon Thyself the training of them, and make of 
them a holy nation, whose sacrifices of love and obedience 
may put to shame those who have grown to manhood and old 
age. Thy Word declares that " out of the mouths of babes 
and sucklings Thou hast perfected praise;" fill, then, their 
mouths with Thy praise, and mould them to be new foundation- 
stones for Thy spiritual Zion. 

If holy zeal inflame thy breast 
To publish to the world that they 
Who love the Lord alone are blest, 
And who His holy laws obey, 
Choose the soft hearts among the throng 
Of sinners, and address the young. 

To climes beyond the sea you hie, 
Where Hottentots and Hindoos dwell ; 
And though all day aloud you cry, 
Few listen to the tale you tell. 
While, lo ! at home the children dear, 
Around you flock the truth to hear. 

What means the keen and silent gaze 
They fix on yours ? "Oh tell us true 
What evil is, what good," it says ; 
" We want no other guide but you." 
Why then the little ones disdain, 
Or where a better audience gain ? 



64. Do good unto all Men. 437 

64. 

Do gooo txnto all jJEm. 

Pity the man condemned to see, 

As guests around his table set, 
Early and late, a company 

To all of whom he is in debt. 

Helpless myself, to Thee I cry, 
Lord, save me from this misery ; 
For round me wife and children stand, 
And man and maid on every hand, 
And payment of their bills demand. 

Gal. vi. 10. "As we have therefore opportunity, let us do 
good unto all men, especially unto them who are of the 
household of faith." 

Gal. vi. 1. " Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye 
which are spiritual restore such an one in the spirit of 
meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted." 

James, v. 19, 20. "Brethren, if any of you do err from the 
truth, and one convert him ; let him know, that he which 
converteth a sinner from the error of his way shall save a 
soul from death, and shall hide a multitude of sins." 

" ^/'E shine as lights in the world," writes the apostle to the 
X Philippian Church. 1 Do I shine as a light in the 
circle in which God hath set me ? That is a question which 
sometimes goes suddenly like a sword through my soul. I am 
conscious that God has done more for me than for others. 
Am I, then, doing more than others for Him and them? I 
am conscious of having free access to a source of purifying and 
sanctifying power. Do men see the marks of this in my char- 
acter ? Is it manifest in me that I am of the number whom 
the Father " has delivered from the power of darkness, and 

1 Philip, ii. 15. 



438 64- Do good unto all Men. 

translated into the kingdom of his dear Son "? 1 The apostle 
Paul, in a certain passage, tells the Jews : " The name of God 
is blasphemed among the Gentiles through you." 2 Oh, with 
what a weight does this reproach fall upon our hearts when we 
consider our daily walk ! We Christians are the dignitaries of 
the Lord Jesus, and the disgrace which we bring upon ourselves 
attaches also to Him. And if the world is punished when in 
the person of the members it blasphemes the Head, the mem- 
bers must be doubly punished when it is through their offences 
that the Head is blasphemed. 

Ah me ! would that we did not so often neglect the near for 
the sake of more distant objects ! How great a task it would 
be — a task sufficient to occupy a lifetime — were we to en- 
deavour to become in our several stations good fathers and 
brothers, good husbands and masters ! It is with the lesser 
circle we must always begin. If families are not properly 
trained, neither will cities be well founded ; and if cities are 
not well founded, how can states subsist? Little things be- 
come slowly great, but great things suddenly little. 

The Gospel is very human in its doctrines, very far removed 
from all fanaticism and exaggeration. It sets a high value 
upon the brotherhood of Christians, and justly so, for that 
connects us in one body with Christ. But, at the same time, 
the Gospel does not, for the sake of this spiritual bond, dis- 
own the sacred ties of blood relationship, and enjoins us as 
earnestly to rule well the household as to rule well the Church. 
The Saviour who said, " Whosoever shall do the will of my 
Father who is in heaven, the same is my brother, and sister, 
and mother," 3 on another occasion, when nailed to the cross, 
thought of His mother before all others, and committed her to 
the care of the disciple whom He loved. 4 The same apostle 
who in one passage tells us, " Ye are all one in Christ Jesus," 5 
says in another, " If any provide not for his own, and speci- 
ally for those of his own house, he hath denied the faith, and 

1 Col. i. 13. 2 Rom. ii. 24. 3 Matt. xii. 50. 

4 John, xix. 27. 5 Gal. iii. 28. 



64. Do good unto all Men. 439 

is worse than an infidel ; " 1 and while exhorting us, " as we 
have opportunity, let us do good unto all men, especially unto 
them who are of the household of faith" 2 he could wish him- 
self "accursed from Christ for his brethren, his kinsmen 
according to the flesh." 3 This is truly a human aspect of 
the Gospel ; for what would have become of the world and 
of the human race if the preaching of Christ, while knitting 
spiritual bonds, had everywhere dissolved the bonds of blood 
and the natural order of things ? What would have happened 
if the Son had undone what had been done by the Father, 
and if the work of redemption had abolished the work of 
creation ? 

To provide for and rule each his own family is the first duty 
which holy Scripture requires of us. 4 Hence it is that charity 
has its limits ; and just as " God is a God of order," 5 so 
there is a certain order which it behoves us to observe in 
offering the sacrifices of beneficence. It is human when, as 
often as we look upon the hungry and naked, the eye is 
bedewed with tears and the hand is stretched out to relieve ; 
but it is Christian not even then to obey the mere impulse of 
the tender heart, but first to inquire whether a still more 
urgent duty does not summon the tender heart and helping 
hand to some other object. Counsel ought always to precede 
action. There are many who understand so little the frame of 
mind which never proceeds to act without having first taken 
counsel with God, and which, if the case require, can for His 
sake be cruel in spite of its tears, that they call such delibera- 
tion cold-heartedness. Now, no doubt, the proverb says, and 
says well — 

" Do good to whomsoe'er it be ; 
God will the act with favour see ; " 

and no doubt that is right to be done, if we have first made 
sure that they who are within the house shall not suffer hunger 

1 1 Tim. v. 8. 2 Gal. vi. 10. 3 R om> } x# 3# 

4 i Tim. v. 8 ; iii. 5. 5 1 Cor. xiv. 33. 



440 64. Do good unto all Men. 

while they who are without are plentifully fed. There is, how- 
ever, another proverb which says — 

" Do what thou dost, if good, with speed, 
But slowly ponder first the deed ; " 

and that requires also to be weighed when we are in the way 
of risking the head in order not to spoil the hat. Has not 
the Lord allotted to every man here on earth his own pecu- 
liar task, and appointed each of us His steward in the one 
particular place where we are stationed ? He who attempts to 
fly higher than his wings can bear him will come to shame and 
loss; and, on the contrary, he who does what he can does 
what is enough. Our duty, therefore, is to arm ourselves with 
strong faith, even while shedding tears over the misery which 
we cannot alleviate, because there is so much other misery to 
be alleviated in our own immediate neighbourhood. There is 
a passage in which the Lord says, " It is not meet to take the 
children's bread, and to cast it to dogs ; " * and may not this, 
in a certain sense, be applied to the present case? No doubt 
there are many claims presented to me ; but when the Lord 
puts one into the hand of a near relation, is not that one 
written with my own blood ? In the case of those who here 
on earth are without father, mother, or brother, He who ex- 
pressly calls Himself the " Father of the widow and the 
orphan," will Himself perform the father's part. At the same 
time, the bond of blood, sacred although it be, is not the only 
one that devolves upon us sacred duties. Under certain cir- 
cumstances the spiritual bond, or even peculiar providences, 
may draw a stranger closer to me than my own flesh and 
blood. Our Lord did not commit the care of His mother 
to those who had sucked the same breast as Himself; for it 
was not to His brothers, but to His spiritual son, the disciple 
who had lain on His bosom, that He said, " Behold thy 
mother ! " so that this also is a case in which we must apply 
1 Matt. xv. 26. 






64. Do good unto all Men. 441 

the precept, " Let every man be fully persuaded in his own 
mind," 1 and that before the Lord. 

I know not how it happens, but never does a word of allu- 
sion to Christ escape with greater difficulty from my lips than 
when I am in the company of my nearest relatives ; and there 
are many who have told me that they feel the same. There is, 
indeed, one way of explaining it ; for if these relatives do not 
like the word of admonition in any case, we need not wonder 
that they dislike to hear it most of all from those who appear 
to them like an attendant conscience walking at their side, in 
asmuch as they then read in the face of the monitor a per- 
petual rebuke, even although his lips are silent. And is there 
not also on our own part something to cause the difficulty ? 
for if those whom we admonish are our superiors, we fear 
their remonstrances ; and if our inferiors, the liberties they 
may take. With the former, our well-intentioned admoni- 
tions may subject us to the suspicion of pride ; and in the 
case of the latter, we must be content to have our children 
and servants applying our admonition as the rule by which 
they judge of our own walk. Very subtle are the motives 
which then come into play; for if the monitor be not per- 
fectly in earnest in the practice of self-denial, he will be 
cautious ere he furnish those who must be submissive to him 
in all other things with the means of passing judgment upon 
his conduct, inasmuch as this would disturb his carnal ease of 
mind, and compel him to be watchful. Moreover, it must 
also be said that, properly speaking, we do enough when we 
give to any one the opportunity of believing. If it be possible 
in any way to carry doing good to excess, this is for certain 
oftenest done by preaching and exhortation. Solomon says, 
" Much preaching 2 is a weariness to the flesh." 3 It is like- 
wise a weariness to the soul, and that not only of the hearer 
but also of the speaker. There is a possibility of preaching 
the ears deaf and the heart dead ; for which reason it is even 
a duty to let the sound of the sweet message be heard only 
1 Rom. xiv. 5. 2 Eng. vers, "study." 3 Eccl. xii. 12. 



44 2 64. Do good unto all Men. 

from time to time, and to pause in the interval, that it may be 
seen whether the ear may not meanwhile have grown more 
acute. This is the way in which God Himself acts. He does 
not incessantly strive with a man, but brings him round by 
little and little. His mill grinds slowly, but makes the flour 
fine, and we must do the same. It is impossible to be per- 
petually preaching. 

There was a time when I myself erred in this way. I always 
spoke too much. I now see that, as regards the weightiest of 
all matters, grown-up people are pretty much on a par with 
children. It is unquestionably a misfortune that in these our 
days teachers endeavour too much to lecture things into chil- 
dren instead of waiting to see whether the children would not 
spontaneously bring them out, or merely prompting them, so 
that with the help of the first syllable of the word the inner 
man might learn to speak it of himself. It is quite the same 
with grown-up people in spiritual matters. Nothing is so 
hurtful as over-preaching to them. If a man be very rich in 
words, his words are usually not very rich in sense, and in that 
case he may pull with all his might at the rope, and wonder 
that the bell does not ring ; but the reason is, that it has a 
leathern tongue. Moreover, if the persons on whom the 
attempt to convert is made are parents or superiors, there 
arises the suspicion that it may have originated in pride. In 
this matter I have now learned to act more wisely; at the 
same time, I am not without apprehension that my present 
prudence and caution are often nothing else but the fear of 
man, and carnal sloth in disguise. To maintain a continual 
attitude of hostility towards those who are about us is painful 
to the flesh, and it is very pleasant to be at peace with the 
world ; we therefore try to think that our neighbour's case is 
not so bad as we had believed ; for how often does it happen 
that, as the poet says — 

' ' We wink politely at a brother's faults, 
That he may as politely wink at ours " ! 

We say to ourselves that we are not in a proper frame of mind 



64. Do good unto all Men. 443 

to interfere, but then we do not try to obtain the proper frame 
by looking up to the Lord. In short, we persuade ourselves 
that carnal prudence is spiritual wisdom ; keep silence when 
we ought to speak, and prefer disgraceful peace to honourable 
war. I know persons who anxiously try in every possible way 
not to let their nearest neighbours know how they stand 
affected towards the Gospel ; but that is what I will never do. 
I think it disgraceful for a man to be ashamed of his friend, 
and I cry, Woe to him who is ashamed of his God ! And of 
Thee, dear Master, I implore, permit me rather to go too far 
— even though it be from want of thought — in bearing testi- 
mony for Thee, than to deny Thee by keeping silence. 

But much also depends upon the manner in which we do 
testify and speak. There was a time when, thinking it a com- 
manded duty, I forced myself to do it. In that way, however, 
it is attended with no blessing. Water is always sweetest 
when welling from the fountain. Moreover, in cases of such 
forced admonition, we find that like the preacher and his 
discourse are the hearer and the effect produced upon him. 
Both are a bungle. Instead of putting on the new man, all 
that is put on is a new cloak ; and of an assumed manner it 
has been said that it fades away as ice melts in a summer day. 
No blessing cleaves to it. Out of sight out of mind. It is of 
absolute necessity that the sermons we preach shall gush from 
the lips like water from a spring, which cannot be stopped ; 
and the more freely it issues, the more easily likewise does it 
enter. And this takes place whenever love duly stirs and actu- 
ates our heart, so that we form a vivid conception of our 
brother's spiritual misery, and of the salvation of which he 
might be made to partake ; while, at the same time, we have 
a firm confidence that the Spirit of the Lord will pave the way 
for us. Only when it is of this cheerful and believing character 
has the Word its full urgency and true ring, so that it breaks 
through all obstructions. A person who had been all over the 
world once told me that he had scarcely ever fallen into the 
company of travellers with whom he was not able to converse 



444 64. Do good unto all Men. 

pleasantly, and, as he hoped, with lasting effect, about the 
journey to the heavenly country. I expressed my repugnance 
to conversation purposely introduced with a view to convert, 
and spoke of the danger of forestalling, instead of following in 
the footsteps of the Holy Spirit, of the snare of pride, and 
more of the same sort. He meekly answered : " I endeav- 
oured never to speak until I was certain that I loved. I figured 
to myself, what we too often forget, that we men are all 
brothers one of another, and all belong to the same father's 
house, but are so easily turned aside from the path that leads 
to it. I thought of the words of Gellert — 

' Perchance in heaven one day to me 
Some blessed saint will come and say, 
All hail ! beloved, but for thee 
My soul to death had fallen a prey. 
And oh what rapture in the thought ! 
One soul to glory to have brought.' 

This never failed to soften and warm my heart; and when 
there was love in mine, I soon found a bridge into that of the 
stranger. It was as if the breath of God had drawn out a 
thread from the one and fastened it to the other." 

This narrative I have never been able to forget. It is quite 
true, that if our speech be prompted by love, and that of a 
humble and unpretentious sort, discourse about conversion 
loses all that otherwise makes it offensive. In that case it has 
none of the haughty preceptorial tone which so often gives 
pain • no trace of intentional character, for love never calcu- 
lates ; and no taint of sour puritanical severity. Such dis- 
course, as the apostle tells us, " will he grateful 1 to the hearers." 2 
Admonitions are then no longer like darts and spears, but 
become like apples of gold upon dishes of silver. 3 In general, 
a great step has been gained with men of the world if we have 
only acquired the valuable art of speaking the truth mirthfully. 
We then knock at the door in sport, and it is opened to us in 

1 Eng. vers., " will minister grace." 2 Eph. iv. 29. 

s Prov. xxv. 11. 



64- Do good unto all Men. 445 

earnest. Oh how precious a thing is wit, applied at the right 
time and place ! A well-played ball never fails to find its 
pocket. What would I not give for a talent like that of Luther 
and Claudius, so as to be able always to season the word of 
truth with the salt of humour, according to the apostle's own 
expression, — " Let your speech be always with grace, seasoned 
with salt, that ye may know how ye ought to answer every 
man " I 1 What would I not give to be able always to proclaim 
the Gospel with a cheerful countenance, bringing into view its 
consolatory and ennobling aspects, and communicating it as a 
sweet leaven of truth, which in another place the apostle calls 
it ! 2 There is a proverb which says that " with a single spoon- 
ful of honey you will catch more flies than with a whole cask 
of vinegar." Now it is very true that sharp vinegar is a large 
ingredient in the Word of God, but the Word likewise contains 
a large mixture of honey. There is in it much that, to one not 
wholly insensible, must have a pleasant taste the moment it 
touches his tongue. I greatly wish that I had charity enough 
always to serve up the honey first. 

Another reason, and a main one, why we do not often er 
boldly open our mouth to bear testimony is undoubtedly want 
of faith. We meet with persons of whom it is impossible to 
imagine that there can be any place in their heart open to dis- 
course about the Cross. But Zinzindorf used to say that he 
always found it easy to converse with men of all descriptions, 
if he only looked upon them as candidates — he meant, candi- 
dates for the kingdom of heaven. To do this, however, 
requires great faith. If, for instance, we have to deal with 
those on whom, perchance, the best spiritual sharpshooters 
have for years been wasting their powder, and who were not 
softened and humbled, even when the hand of God was laid 
heavily upon them — in such a case, I repeat, it does require 
great faith to continue holding fast the persuasion that the 
cloudy morning and rainy noon may yet be succeeded by a 
bright and fair evening. And if we have not faith we become 
1 Col. iv. 6. 2 1 Cor. v. 8. 



44-6 64. Do good unto all 

faint-hearted while discoursing, and then indeed our words are 
only blunted arrows. If, however, we do really and firmly 
believe that there is a God who keeps His eye and heart open 
towards all the world, and that He " has no pleasure in the 
death of the sinner, but that all should come to repentance," 1 
we then, even when dealing with enemies of the truth, acquire 
a bold heart, and from it our words fly like arrows, fleet and 
sharp. And although the arrows may oft rebound, we must 
not on that account desist from our endeavours ; for success 
depends not merely on the temper of the weapons, but also upon 
the time of the Lord. What we must do is to renew the attempt, 
recollecting the answer which the Lord gave to the question 
of Peter : " How oft shall my brother sin against me and I 
forgive him?" 2 which is here also applicable. 

It is, however, just with those with whom we have every day 
to do that the attempt to convert with words is least of all 
necessary. Let us only be really trees laden with the goodly 
fruit that is the produce of faith, and the immediate effect will 
unquestionably be, that they who have not wholly sold their 
heart to darkness will conceive a certain reverence for the 
cause of the Gospel, and thereby be led spontaneously to i?iquire 
what sort of a root it is which bears fruit of so excellent a kind. 
The less urgent we are with our testimony, — the more they 
perceive that our own soul is our chief concern in the effort 
which we make, — the less able will they be to withhold their 
respect from it. I am thoroughly persuaded, and the persua- 
sion has been confirmed by experience, that if we can succeed 
in planting in the minds of those by whom it is repudiated, the 
conviction that the Gospel has nothing extraordinary about it, 
and that it merely furnishes us with direction and power to 
become what as men we ought to be, we have thereby gained 
the heart of all whose ears are open to the voice of God. 
That, however, is a conviction which can be produced far less 
effectually by words than by deeds ; and accordingly, since the 
days of my early and impure zeal went by, that is the object 
1 2 Peter iii. 9. 2 Matt, xviii. 22. 



64. Do good unto all Men. 447 

to which all my prayers and all my wishes are directed ; and 
I also find that in many a place doors are open to me for 
bearing a testimony for the Word. 

No doubt the case is different with him who is the father of 
a family and the master of a household. He has received a 
distinct charge from God to build up his children and depend- 
ants spiritually, and to aim in his endeavours that they may 
become a church in his house; and as of that church he is the 
priest, it is incumbent upon him not only to testify, preach, 
and admonish wherever he observes anything that contravenes 
the divine will, but also to pray for and with the members. 
From time immemorial it has been regarded as the duty of a 
Christian father to assemble his family, morning and evening, 
in the presence of the Lord ; and certainly this is a custom 
which the Lord has richly blessed. How excellent a spiritual 
discipline it is for the father himself ! How he is humbled at 
night in the circle of his children and domestics, if in his inter- 
course with them during the day it has appeared that he had 
forgotten God and His commandments ! How wholesome a 
restraint the fear of having to blush for transgressions before 
those against whom they were committed ! Moreover, how 
beneficial to him the opportunity of testifying in his prayers, 
and while in the divine presence, that the fear of the Lord is 
the mainspring of his daily life, and that he is earnest and 
solicitous for the welfare of those who are dear to him, 
especially as all this is done in the mood and attitude in 
which his words are most likely to awaken confidence in their 
hearts ! How great a comfort, too, to the members of the 
family, to have this way of looking into the heart of him into 
whose hand their lot has been mainly committed ! and, in fine, 
how needful to them all such a means of maintaining the con- 
sciousness of what for the Lord's sake they owe to each other ! 
In such circumstances the due discharge of the allotted task of 
the day becomes doubly easy. Verily, no duty is more urgent 
than to introduce afresh into every house the good old custom 
which the levity of the age has allowed to fall into disuse. 






44-8 64. Do good unto all Men. 

O Lord, with the whole earnestness of my heart I implore of 
Thee to help me first of all to be a true Christian in my own 
house and family. Teach me to testify; teach me to keep 
silence, as Thou wouldst have me do, so that on my account 
Thy name may never be profaned among those who do not 
know Thee. 

Oh give my mind a childlike bent 
To watch from hour to hour intent 

The signals of Thine eye ; 
That all I think and all I do, 
My speech, and even my silence too, 

May with Thy will comply. 

Yes, grant that my whole walk and ways 
May be a sermon, and Thy praise 

Without a pause bespeak ; 
And if great things Thou bidst me do, 
Oh hide their lustre from my view, 

And keep me calm and meek. 



III. 



gjootm i\z bright \nz% fata wefts bre, 
i 0« S0foir fklfrs taw sjuatas bxsorg. 



2 F 



6$. It doth not yet appear what we shall be. 45 1 



65. 

It foatfj not get appear fcrfjat toe sttaXI be. 

Would that my heart were pure \ 

I then the Lord would see; 
And if I saw Him, sure, 

My heart then pure would be. 

What is the mean that knits 

In harmony these twain; 
Points from the earth to heaven, 
From heaven to earth again ? 

It is the secret smart 

To HOME-SICK spirits known, 
That upwards lifts the heart 

And brings the Saviour down, 

i John, iii. 2, 3. " Beloved, now are we the sons of God, 
and it doth not yet appear what we shall be : but we know 
that, when He shall appear, we shall be like Him ; for we 
shall see Him as He is. And every man that hath this 
hope in him purifieth himself, even as He is pure." 

Rom. viii. 22-24. "For we know that the whole creation 
groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now. And 
not only they, but ourselves also, which have the first- 
fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within our- 
selves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of 
our body. For we are saved by hope : but hope that is 
seen is not hope ; for what a man seeth, why doth he yet 
hope for?" 

1 Cor. xv. 25-28. "For He must reign till He hath put 
all enemies under His feet The last enemy that shall be 



452 6$. It doth not yet appear what we shall be. 

destroyed is death. For He hath put all things under His 
feet. But when He saith, All things are put under Him, 
it is manifest that He is excepted which did put all things 
under Him. And when all things shall be subdued unto 
Him, then shall the Son also Himself be subject unto 
Him that put all things under Him, that God may be all 
in all." 
i Cor. xiii. 12. " Now we see through a glass, darkly; but 
then face to face : now I know in part ; but then shall I 
know even as also I am known." 

BLESSED are the home -sick, for they shall reach their 
Father's house! was a saying frequently upon the lips 
of a man of God who had had rich experience of the pilgrim- 
life here below — its stony paths and stormy days and sleepless 
nights. But may not the man who treads the very pleasantest 
of the paths that lead through this terrestrial vale likewise take 
up the saying? Yes : so long as Christians need to pray that 
the kingdom of God may come — come into their own hearts and 
come into the world at large — they will never cease to long for 
the heavenly home. It is true that the coming of the kingdom 
of God is not an event altogether future. Even now it is come, 
although doubtless only in its rudiments, according to the 
language of the apostle, when he says, " We have received the 
first fruits of the Spirit." There is blessedness in the mere 
drops — how shall it be when the whole ocean flows in upon 
us ! If the first-fruits already make us rich, shall we not be 
rich indeed when we reap the full harvest ? The more he thus 
feels, the more natural in the life of the Christian will be a 
longing after eternity. For if, as the apostle says, " we are saved 
by hope," he who is destitute of such longing cannot possibly 
be a Christian at all. None perhaps ever received the first- 
fruits in more abundant measure than the apostle Paul, and 
yet he tells us how intensely he longed. He says : " We our- 
selves, also, which have received the first-fruits of the Spirit, 
even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adop- 



65. It doth not yet appear what we shall be. 453 

tion, to wit, the redemption of our body." And think not 
that this longing makes slothful hands or feeble knees ; for 
after saying, "We are willing rather to be absent from the 
body, and to be present with the Lord," he immediately sub- 
joins, " Wherefore we labour *, that, whether present or absent, we 
may be accepted by Him." 1 And while he affirms in one pas- 
sage, "I die daily," he was able also to aver in another, " I 
have laboured more abundantly than they all." No ; the 
longing for home does not make the hands slothful or the 
knees weary. Rather does every man who has a hope so 
bright and noble " purify himself, even as He is pure." And 
what else should the servant do who is advancing to meet a 
master like ours, but prepare to receive Him with due honour, 
according to His own words : " Let your loins be girded 
about, and your lamps burning ; and ye yourselves like unto 
men that wait for their lord, when he will return from the 
wedding ; that when he cometh and knocketh, they may open 
unto him immediately." 2 

In this land of pilgrimage the path is often so rough as of 
itself to breed a yearning for the eternal home. And even 
were it otherwise, can we, so long as we are in the far country, 
ever become wholly free from sin ? It is true that he who 
walks in the fear of the Lord advances from victory to victory; 
but is the victory over it ever complete ? That certainly cannot 
be. St John, when probably in his eightieth or ninetieth year, 
was constrained to confess, " If we say that we have no sin, 
we deceive ourselves." 3 St James must needs aver, " In many 
things we offend all." 4 And can any one still sojourning here, 
and still bearing about with him the earthly house of this 
tabernacle of clay, venture to anticipate that a day will ever 
come when he shall no longer need to pray, " Forgive us our 
debts " ? Alas ! were the kingdom of God to enter my heart in 
the fulness of its power, could I even then be blessed so long 
as I dwell in a world where Satan wields the sceptre over the 

1 2 Cor. v. 8, 9. 2 Luke, xii. 35, 36. 

3 1 John, i. 8. 4 James, iii. 2. 



454 65. It doth not yet appear what we shall be. 

children of unbelief, and where, though that which is good pos- 
sesses the right, the power belongs to that which is evil ? No : 
I must account it carnal fulness when men venture to deny 
that a yearning for the land of light and truth is as natural to 
the Christian as yearning for the mountains is to one who has 
long lived upon the level plain and yet has a boding sense of 
the salubrity of mountain air. 

Never without the deepest emotion do I read these words of 
John : " Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not 
yet appear what we shall be." It is as if he wished to say, 
What man is there who would not even now feel himself blessed 
by the belief that God had already in His mercy adopted him 
as a child? And yet something greater than this has been 
promised; for "it hath not yet appeared what we shall be." 
"When He shall appear," however, "we shall be like Him." 
This sets the human spirit at rest, for above or beyond it there 
can be nothing greater or better. Even at the time when He 
still concealed His heavenly glory beneath the woollen garb, 
even then it dawned upon our minds that in Him, or nowhere 
else, the noblest type of humanity was to be beheld. Now, 
however, the woollen garb of a servant has been laid aside — 
He has put on the kingly crown; and what He, the elder 
brother, is, that shall we also be. Beyond a doubt, therefore, 
there will arrive a time, long as it may still delay, when all 
within and about me shall be full of light. I adore, and am 
silent. How this shall be brought about I try in vain to con- 
ceive. I am told, however, that I shall see Him as He is. 
If, then, when translated into the other world, I take with me 
a love to Him exceeding all other loves, and if He, on His 
part, shall unveil Himself to me in the fulness of His beauty, 
will He not penetrate through me like the unrefracted sun- 
beam, and fill me with the light of which He Himself is full ? 
" We shall see Him as He is," writes the beloved apostle ; and 
as he wrote the words, how his heart must have thrilled with 
joy ! Even at the time when his Saviour was still wearing the 
servile garb, John always felt it bliss to be permitted to lean 



65. It doth not yet appear what we shall be. 45 5 

on His bosom, and experienced a sanctifying influence when 
he looked into His eye. Afterwards, when the Saviour had 
withdrawn from human sight, he found blessedness and sancti- 
fication in spiritual fellowship with Him, as he says : " That 
which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that ye 
also may have fellowship with us : and truly our fellowship is 
with the Father, and with His Son Jesus Christ, And these 
things write we unto you, that your joy may befull" Y Now, 
however, John has the hope of seeing his Master again, and of 
seeing Him as He is — that is to say, undisguised and undis- 
figured — and that sight he knows will make him perfectly holy. 
Were one to understand the words in a carnal sense, well 
might he permit such a hope to slacken his efforts. The 
apostle is rather bowed down by it in spirit, for he is sensible 
that it is all mercy. It only makes him more humble, and 
more earnest in seeking to please Him. "Every man," he 
says, "that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as 
He is pure." 

We are now the children of God in faith; we believe that 
of His mercy He has accepted us, and therefore we feel the 
beginnings of a filial affection to Him. In truth, however, we 
shall only then be His children when we resemble the First- 
begotten, who is His veritable Son. And this, methinks, is 
the reason why Paul likewise says that we groan and wait for 
the adoption, as if it were not already a present good, and 
represents it as consequent upon the redemption of the body ; 
looking forward to the time when, the first-fruits being reaped, 
the full harvest of the Spirit shall have come, and this poor and 
mortal frame, now so often reluctant when the soul would soar 
aloft, shall likewise participate in the life of glory. For then 
there shall be nothing about us to prevent the light eternal 
from freely permeating our material part, and expelling from it 
all darkness and infirmity. "Our conversation," saith the 
apostle, "is in heaven; from whence also we look for the 
Saviour, who shall change our vile body, that it may be fash- 

1 1 John, i. 3, 4. 



45 6 65. It doth not yet appear what we shall be. 

ioned like unto His glorious body, according to the working 
whereby He is able even to subdue all things unto Himself." 1 
We need not wonder that to many these great promises ap- 
pear but as beautiful dreams. He that looks upon his own weak- 
ness, or considers what has been going on upon the earth since 
the beginning of the world, or who reflects how slowly and 
imperceptibly Christ is formed in the heart, may well doubt 
whether it will ever be that His enemies shall all lie prostrate 
at His feet. The apostle Peter tells us that in his days there 
were scoffers who said, " Where is the promise of His coming? 
for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they 
were from the beginning of the creation." 2 But, God be 
thanked ! we build this hope of ours neither on what our eyes 
see, nor yet on the thoughts of our own erring minds ; for we 
know that 

We perish, if in our own might 
To wage the war we try ; 

But One ordained for us to fight 
Can all our foes defy. 

And if you ask me, Who is this ? 
I answer, Christ our champion is. 

He fights and, says the apostle, reigns until He has put all 
enemies under His feet; and by mentioning death as the last of 
these, he comprises under them all the things that still hinder 
the image of God in human nature from acquiring the mastery 
over what is hostile and obstructive. And when the battle has 
been fought out, and all things have been subdued unto Him, 
then will He demit His regal office, in order that He alone, 
in whose behalf His wars were waged, may become all in all. 
Who can measure what these words express ? it is an ocean 
without a shore: " He will be all in me, and He will be all in 
all." 

Lord, in the ocean of Thy love 

Be all my rebel passions drowned ; 
And not a wish Thy frown to move 

In my regenerate heart be found. 



Philip, iii. 20, 21. 2 Peter, iii. 4. 



65. It doth not yet appear what we shall be. 457 

Let every pulse throb thanks to Thee, 
And every breath an anthem be ! 

Oh let my eye, wherever bent, ; 

In all things see Thy glory shine ; 
My ear in every day's event 

Discern a harmony divine ; 
And may I feel that, far and near, 
Where'er I am, Thou, God, art here. 

Such was our song in the days of our infirmity here below; 
but when God shall be all in all, will not what we once sang 
have become reality? There have been reflective Christians 
who, in lofty flights of the spirit, have told us what they thought 
of that plenitude of graces which is to be poured out upon us 
at the time of the full harvest. But this I venture not to do, 
because holy Scripture itself speaks upon the subject only in 
emblems, and thereby gives us to understand that the things 
are of a kind of which the mind may perchance have a boding 
sense, but which it cannot comprehend, and on which it 
scarcely dares to think. When it calls Him who is " the bright- 
ness of the Father's glory," our "elder brother" — when it 
promises that we shall be like Him, — do I rightly understand 
what this signifies? When it promises that there will no longer 
be any difference between my knowledge and His knowledge, 
or between what I am, and what He is, able to do, does it 
mean that He will reserve nothing for Himself? This is cer- 
tainly the prospect which the Scriptures always present afresh, 
and from some new point of view, to the child of God, and 
from the magnitude of which he recoils. When, as their great 
High-priest, He prays for His disciples, and says, " Father, I 
will that they also, whom Thou hast given me, be with me 
where I am ; that they may behold my glory, which Thou hast 
given me" And " the glory which Thou hast giveii me, I have 
given them; that they may be one, even as we are one." 1 — 
When He says, " To him that overcometh will I grant to sit 
with me on my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set 
down with my Father in His throne." 2 — When the apostle 

1 John, xvii. 22, 24. 2 Rev. iii. 21. 



45 8 65. It doth not yet appear what we shall be. 

avers, " The?i shall I know (God) even as also I am known (of 
Him)." — I scarcely dare to utter the words, and yet I cannot 
be mistaken as to their meaning. Do they not tell us that 
we shall be made to resemble the Son of God in all respects ? 
Is it not a fellowship in everything which He, the First-born, 
promises to those whom He purposes to exalt to sonship with 
Himself? And yet if He did not shrink from the deep abase- 
ment of assuming human flesh and blood, and entering into 
fellowship with us in our abject state, surely we need not 
wonder that it is now His good pleasure to make us partakers 
of all His greatness. I might even say we can look for nothing 
else. Oh what a noble text is that which tells us that " both 
He that sanctifieth and they who are sanctified are all of one ; 
for which cause He is not ashamed to call them brethren, say- 
ing, I will declare Thy name unto my brethren, in the midst of 
the church will I sing praise unto Thee"! 1 He has dignified 
poor human nature, and given to it what He received from 
the Father, and has thereby made us sons of equal rank with 
Himself — yet all through grace, and grace alone. For that 
reason it is that He will remain the Head through all eternity. 
No doubt we shall be like Him, yet on that very account we 
shall owe Him, and Him alone, a debt of gratitude. "Ye 
know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though He was 
rich, yet for our sakes He became poor, that we through His 
poverty might be rich." 2 For this, therefore, we shall through 
all eternity give thanks unto Him, the Prince of life, who has 
gone before us on the path of suffering, in order to bring many 
sons unto glory. 3 When permitted to sit beside Him on the 
throne on which He has been set by the Father, we shall never 
cease to sing the hymn, "Worthy is the Lamb that was slain 
to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and 
honour, and glory, and blessing." 4 

In every body where there is a head there must also be 
diversity among the members. Although, therefore, it might 

1 Heb. ii. 11, 12. 2 2 Cor. viii. 9. 

3 Heb. ii. 10. 4 Rev. v. 12. 



65. It doth not yet appear what we shall be. 459 

seem at first as if, when God is all in all, no one of these could 
differ from another, in reality this is not the case ; for just as 
the Prince of life travelled to glory by a path of His own, so 
likewise must the sons whom He purposes to conduct to glory 
with Him. And it is a path which none of them can forget. 
They have been trained in different schools, and have entered 
the sanctuary by different doors. There is, in fact, an eternal 
centre of spirits emitting innumerable rays, and on some par- 
ticular one of these does every spirit reach that centre. For 
this reason, when congregated there, they shall all take part 
in the same halleluiah, and yet each with a voice and tone 
peculiar to himself. 

Almighty God, in whose hand it is to acquit or to condemn, 
I cannot but acknowledge Thy full and perfect right to con- 
demn me; and yet Thou hast awarded me an inheritance 
so great that I scarcely dare for very shame to lift my eyes 
towards it. I should praise and thank Thee through eternity, 
even though the place allotted me were on the remotest con- 
fine of Thy holy land, or only at the threshold of Thy heavenly 
temple. But Thy Word distinctly tells me that Thou wilt 
draw me to Thy heart, that Thou wilt seat me on Thy throne, 
and make me a copy of the brightness of Thy glory. Oh give 
me faith sufficiently great and powerful to grasp so inconceiv- 
able a promise ; and in seasons of weakness vouchsafe to me 
a glimpse, though it be but into the outward porch, of that 
glorious place to which I shall one day be exalted. At such 
a thought how does this little earth, with all its mighty woe, 
recede far, far behind me ! 

Here dwell for ever joy and light. 
The soul is clad in raiment bright 

Of spotless purity. 
Like kings we sit on thrones, and wear 
Immortal chaplets, fresh and fair, 

While changeless time rolls by. 
Oh happy they that day who see, 
When all and in all God shall be! 



460 66. I saw a new Heaven and a new Earth 

66. 

H sairr a tufo Ikauttt ant a neto fflfortij. 

Earth was for thee too strait, impatient throbled thy heart; 
Now thou hast room enough, for now with God thou art. 
Yes, room which to explore, if thou shouldst enterprise, 
Time and eternity itself will not suffice. 

Rev. xxi. 1. " And I saw a new heaven and a new earth : 
for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away ; 
and there was no more sea." 

ANOTHER of the apostles writes : " The fashion of this 
world passeth away." 1 The old earth will pass away 
in order to give place to the new, which shall continue for 
ever. How much of the old will remain we do not know, and 
can only conjecture. It is, however, certain that beneath its 
outward rind a resurrection germ is contained, just as there is 
in our earthly body. The fleshly mass, which by the afflux 
and deflux of its particles is undergoing continual change, does 
not constitute the body's real substance. There is within 
a spiritual type and germ, which finds it hard to spring and 
shoot forth as it ought through the coarse outward crust formed 
of the dust of the ground. 2 Even the erect stature of the 
human body plainly shows that its inhabitant is of a different 
rank from those who inhabit other bodies. But how strait 
and coarse is this crust in which he is confined ! We see re- 
vealed in the wondrous fabric called the eye the tremblings of 
the slenderest string which is touched in the recesses of the 
breast. How would it be were every member of the body 
such a mirror of the soul as the eye at present is ? 

And now we learn that there is to be a resurrection. Yes ; 
and this resurrection the spiritual germ in my body, which 
already labours to shoot forth into view, will undergo. It will 
1 1 Cor. vii. 31. 2 Gen. ii. 7. 



66. I saw a new Heaveri and a new Earth. 461 

rise again in the elements of a new world. And does not 
every creature in this fleeting world bear within it a similar 
resurrection germ ? Certain it is that the place which is des- 
tined for our abode will in some measure be congenial in 
nature and properties with the beings who are to inhabit it. 
Now it is written of man when risen from the grave, that "that 
body is not first which is spiritual, but that which is natural ; 
and after it the spiritual." 1 And consequently, as our body 
is to be spiritualised, the place of our abode will also require 
to possess spiritual properties. At present body and spirit 
are subject to different laws ; for whereas the spirit aspires to 
heaven, the body tends to earth, even in the case of those 
whom the Spirit, who quickens us in Christ Jesus, has already 
made free from the law of sin and of death. On which account 
it is said, " If Christ be in you, the body is dead because of (in- 
dwelling) sin ; but the Spirit is (already) life because of right- 
eousness." 2 But all this is to be changed. The body itself is 
to take on a spiritual nature and quality, and then the spirit's ray 
will shoot through it unbroken and unimpeded, and it will with 
ease and freedom obey the spirit's laws. The body of nature 
shall become man's, and over it he shall have dominion as if it 
were a second body. But " now we see through a glass, darkly." 

Verses 2 and 3. " And I John saw the holy city, new Jeru- 
salem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared 
as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a great 
voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God 
is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall 
be His people, and God Himself shall be with them, and 
be their God." 

A city of God shall come down from heaven to earth. All 
they who from the beginning have been congregated into 
a Church, and whom, with the Lord Jesus, " the heavens have 

1 1 Cor. xv. 46. 

2 That is, by reason of the righteousness that already reigns in it. Rom. 



462 66. I saw a new Heaven and a new Earth. 

received until the times of the restitution of all things, which 
God has spoken of by the mouth of His holy prophets since 
the world began" 1 — they all shall come down to the new 
earth, and shall there constitute the people of God. The 
foundation of a Church of saints was laid by the Lord as early 
as the time when . He said to Israel, " Ye shall be unto me 
a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation." 2 In that Church 
of the redeemed He ordained for Himself a spiritual priest- 
hood, saying to them, " Ye are a chosen generation, a royal 
priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people ; that ye should 
show forth the praises of Him who hath called you out of 
darkness into His marvellous light." 3 What was the Church 
of God's children, in its feeble rudiments here upon earth, and 
when still vexed with mighty conflicts within and without, will 
hereafter be the Church made perfect, and free from all con- 
flict for ever. It will be a bride adorned for her husband. 
While here upon earth the body " grew up into Him, which 
is the head;" 4 there we shall all be " a perfect man, in the 
measure of the full stature of Christ." 5 No doubt we are 
already "espoused" 6 to Him, in order that, as beseems the 
betrothed wife, we may live to please Him and Him alone, 
though, alas ! we are too much given to the courtship of other 
men. Then we shall be a bride adorned by God Himself, and 
shall know no other love but the love of Christ our Head. 

Who can worthily figure to himself the blessedness of the 
day when, freed from every error and stain, they who in the 
preparatory school of earth were trained for the perfect king- 
dom of Christ shall meet together, and when the life which, 
while they lived here below, was hidden with Christ in God, 7 
shall with Christ be manifested in glory ? " Embodiment," 
according to the saying of a profound and pious man, "is 
the end of the ways of God." He means that that which is 
internal reaches its perfection only when it becomes also ex- 
ternal, and reveals and manifests itself outwardly. Thus it is 

1 Acts, iii. 21. 2 Exod. xix. 6. 3 1 Pet. ii. 9. 4 Eph. iv. 15. 

5 Eph. iv. 13. 6 2 Cor. xi. 2. 7 Col. iii. 3. 



66. I saw a new Heaven and a new Earth. 463 

that the spiritual light, when it fills the whole capacity of his 
heart, breaks out even in a man's bodily frame. His eye 
beams forth the peace that is within him, and his face begins 
to shine like the face of an angel, as we are told was the case 
with Stephen. 1 For the present, indeed, the inner life of holy 
men is hidden in the inmost depths of their soul, and painfully 
looks through the gross material of the body, which so reluct- 
antly obeys the law of the spirit. A day, however, is coming 
when that inner life shall be revealed, and through a light and 
heavenly vesture shine forth and reign ; so that in this sense, 
also, embodiment shall be the end of the ways of God. Even 
now we have felt so happy when tasting the sweets of brotherly 
love, although brotherly love is so defective here below, and 
although the taste of it is often embittered by sin and inter- 
rupted by the world, which always interferes when the children 
of God seek to unite in a bond of brotherhood with Christ. 
What will be the case when all that is inward shall have be- 
come outward, and when sin shall no more be able to mar, 
nor the enmity of the world to interrupt, the fruition of affec- 
tion ? How great and noble and heart-refreshing the gifts 
which have been conferred upon the Church, even in this the 
period of her servitude and sojourn on earth ! Pass in review 
all the ornaments which she has worn from the beginning until 
now, and oh what an endless variety of blossoms and hues and 
perfumes are displayed, although she ever wore a servile garb, 
and the weather was often so inclement ! What shall it be 
when the eternal spring has come, when they who are servants 
shall be lords, and when the gifts glorified by faith shall be 
free to reign and show what they are ? Yes ; then, indeed, 
will the tabernacle of God be with men, and it will be mani- 
fest, even to the sight, that He dwells among them. 

Bright beam the inward gems of grace 
Through the mean garb they wear below, 

And to the saints of every race 
Their kinsmen in a moment show. 



1 Acts, vi. 15. 



464 66. I saw a new Heaven and a new Earth. 

But oh ! the splendour of the sight, 

When open to the general gaze, 

These gems in the unclouded light 

Of the new heaven and earth shall blaze. 

Is not the antepast of this 

Itself immeasurable bliss? 

How immeasurable this bliss shall be may be inferred from 
the fact that the Lord Himself expressed a longing after it. He, 
the Head, even when on earth, yearned for fellowship with His 
disciples, though for certain they had little to give Him, and 
yearned still more for it when it should be perfected in heaven. 
Hear what He said at the last supper to His disciples : "With 
desire I have desired to eat this passover with you before I 
suffer : for I say unto you, I will not any more eat thereof, 
until it be fulfilled 1 in the kingdom of God. And I will not 
drink of the fruit of the vine, until the kingdom of God shall 
come." 2 It thus appears that even such imperfect fellowship 
as could be enjoyed with His disciples here below was grateful 
to the Head — nay, more, that it directed His view forward to 
the time of consummation, and suggested the thought, Oh 
how great the blessedness of that will be ! And if the Head 
thus sighed for the perfected communion with the members, 
shall not the members sigh for the perfected communion with 
each other and with Him ? 

Verse 4. " And God shall wipe away all tears from their 
eyes ; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, 
nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain : for the 
former things are passed away." 

Here below we walk from day to day amid tears and want, 
and death and sorrow and pain, and it might well appear as 
if human life could not exist without this bitter accompani- 
ment ; and yet every one feels in his inmost heart that it can- 

1 That is, shall be enjoyed in a more perfect manner. 

2 Luke, xxii. 15-18. 



66. I saw a new Heaven and a new Earth. 465 

not and will not be thus for ever. But if the Word of God did 
not attest the fact, we could not venture to trust solely to the 
voice of the heart, for are not our hopes often the mere off- 
spring of our wishes'! Now, however, we know it. A day 
will come on which, by all to whom grace has been given to 
believe in the Son of God, the toils and tears of the past shall 
be remembered no more. Up then, disconsolate hearts ! 
whatever may be the burden which at present weighs you 
down. Look forward to the future, in which all sufferings 
shall be as if submerged in a mighty ocean. " Former things 
are passed away," says the voice of the prophet. The whole 
period of the world's history to which affliction and sorrow 
belonged shall lie behind us like a morning dream, and no 
remnant of it be left but that " peaceable fruit of righteous- 
ness" 1 which is the growth of correction. 

Whether there shall then be absolutely no kind of sorrow 
at all ; whether not even sadness nor longing — those tenderest 
buds upon the tree of pain — shall still be left ; whether there 
shall be no remoter goal to be reached, and consequently no 
aching of desire after it ; whether there shall not even be the 
remembrance of the path of sin and sorrow through which we 
have made our way to the land of freedom ; and whether, if 
there be no remembrance, there will also be no sense of sad- 
ness as the residue of it, — these and similar questions emerge 
in the heart when with the eye of hope we look across from 
the land of pilgrimage. It is my opinion that every kind of 
sorrow, even that of sadness and of longing, shall have passed 
away. 

No doubt we shall never forget the path that led us through 
the sins and tears of earth. How can we possibly forget it, 
seeing that it is likewise a path through a sea of mercies ? But, 
then, will not the retrospect of it sadden our hearts, inasmuch 
as there must always remain a certain discord, never to be 
perfectly harmonised, between the path we actually travelled 

1 Heb. xii. n. 
2 G 



466 66. I saw a new Heaven and a new Earth. 

and some other one which we would have preferred? No; I 
am of opinion that as the child of God, even here on earth, 
when stretched upon a bed of languishing, and conflicting with 
the pangs of dissolution, is privileged to exclaim in faith and 
with unmingled joy, "Death is swallowed up in victory. O 
death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?" and 
to avouch that "the Lord hath done all things well," much 
more shall we be entitled to utter this exclamation, when we 
behold the victory, not by faith merely, but actually realised. 
Yes ; when in the light eternal, and from the throne on which 
the heavenly Father has vouchsafed a seat with Christ to those 
who with Christ have fought and conquered, we shall survey 
from end to end the path we have traversed, we shall doubtless 
exclaim, " He hath done all things well." To ourselves, indeed, 
we shall have to confess that as we journeyed along we did 
many things that were not well done ; but yet the conviction 
that where sin abounded grace did much more abound, and 
that all things were done transcendently well by Him, will 
stifle every wish that we had gone another way than the one 
we actually travelled. If there remain any trace of the sadness 
which affects us here, when as yet we see not the consumma- 
tion, it can be nothing but the humility with which we shall 
laud and praise Him through all eternity. 

As for the aching of desire, how can there be room for either 
want or wish where God is all in all ? When the prayer shall 
be perfectly fulfilled which the Saviour once offered for His 
Church, saying, "The glory which Thou gavest me I have 
given them, that they may be one, even as we are one : I in 
them, and Thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one, 
and that the world may know that Thou hast sent me, and 
hast loved them, as Thou hast loved me" — when all shall be 
conformed to the image of the first-born Son, what can they 
still lack, or what more can they possibly desire ? They shall 
see God, the all-perfect good ; and beyond that, for what else 
can the heart yearn ? " His servants shall serve Him : and they 
shall see His face ; and His name shall be in their foreheads. 



66. I saw a new Heaven and a new Earth. 467 

And there shall be no night there ; and they need no candle, 
neither light of the sun ; for the Lord God giveth them light : 
and they shall reign for ever and ever." 1 Such is the rest that 
" remaineth for the people of God ; for he that is entered 
into his rest, he also hath ceased from his own works." 2 
Doubtless this is not the rest of the grave, for that is death. 
It is a quiet Sabbatic rest, in which the true action of the soul 
will commence. Neither will there be movement from dark- 
ness to light, for that is necessarily accompanied by disquiet 
and the pain of desire ; but there will be movement in the 
light. When there is difference, then there is also motion. 
We are not to be absorbed in Him, rather is He to be an ob- 
ject of sight to us. And will not this vision be action ? Yes, 
the very purest and noblest exercise of the soul's faculties. 
Whoever in this land of faith has learned what it is to see with 
faith's eye — whoever can tell of hours in which that eye gazed 
unaverted on the supreme good, and was never satiated, will 
be able to testify that there is indeed a rest in God, which is 
the soul's highest and purest action. There are persons who 
inquire if the blessedness of this best of all enjoyments may 
not possibly satiate ; but it may be questioned whether such 
persons have ever here on earth experimentally known what it 
is for the soul to see God in faith, and to find rest in Him. A 
great man 3 has said : " If the eternal Father were to hold 
truth in His right hand, and the e?ideavour after it in His left, 
and were to bid me choose between the two, I would clasp 
His knees and say, Father, the left." But can it be that there 
is not more of life than of death in the light, and that it is given 
to us to find life only between day and night? No, indeed ; 
it is in the light that the soul finds its proper element — that 
element in which it can stir and move and unfold its wings. 
You fear the monotony of the life eternal, and justly might 
you fear it if it arose from the sameness of a good of which, as 
it could not fill the capacity of the soul, the soul might become 
weary, and long for some other. But could the soul become 
1 Rev. xxii. 3-5. 2 Heb. iv. 10. ' 3 Lessing. 



468 66. I saw a new Heaven and a new Earth. 

weary, or think the time long, if the sameness were that of a 
good which comprehends all other goods, and so fills the soul that 
it can hold no more ? Who has not experienced that, while we 
are viewing and enjoying an object which wholly engrosses 
the faculties, time rather takes to itself wings and contracts 
into the ecstasy of a single moment ? Is it possible that when 
all barriers are removed, and all change ceases, there can be 
such a thing as time at all ? In the plenitude of vision and 
fruition it must vanish away. Have you never heard the story 
of Peter Probewell, the monk ? J — 

Forth from his cell, at break of day, 

A pious monk once bent his way. 

Probewell his name, his curious mind 

To search into deep things inclined. 

The vernal air, the morning sun, 

And babbling streamlet cheer him on. 

He seeks the quiet of the wood, 

And muses thus in pensive mood :' 

' ' How rapidly the seasons fly, 

Like shifting scenes before the eye ! 

Scarce has the spring with artist hand 

Beset with gems the verdant land, 

When summer's horn of plenty pours 

Her endless wealth of fruits and flowers ; 

Then autumn comes, with mirth and smiles, 

To hang her clusters on the hills ; 

And while we still admire and gaze, 

Winter with silver all o'erlays. 

If, then, it please Thy love to dress 

With such a changeful loveliness 

This earth of ours, what shall it be, 

O Lord, when we Thy face shall see ? 

No doubt, above what tongue can tell, 

That shall all other joys excel ; 

But if no change or pause it know, 

While countless ages come and go, 

Will not the spirit weary grow ? 

Lord, in Thy pity deign to hear 

My prayer, and make this mystery clear." 

As on he plods, with labouring mind, 
The beeches and the firs behind 



1 After Schubert's prose narrative. 



66. I saw a new Heaven and a new Earth. 469 



Recede, and soon his wondering eyes 
See palms and cedars round him rise. 
Startled, he turns to leave the place, 
And home his footsteps to retrace ; 
When, wafted from a neighbouring tree, 
There comes a charming melody, 
So ravishingly soft and clear, 
His heart the while stood still to hear. 
It was a bird of paradise 
Which sang of the predestined bliss, 
When the great day at last shall come 
And break the slumber of the tomb : 
How heavenly dew, in golden showers, 
Shall bathe this barren world of ours ; 
How all things clad in fresh array 
Shall cast their servile bonds away ; 
How freedom's shout and trumpet's blare 
Shall echo through the boundless air, 
And angels, rapt in glad amaze, 
On the regenerate world shall gaze. 
So ran the entrancing melody 
The while the monk stood listening by ; 
Then turned to go, but, grateful, paid 
His debt of thanks, and, parting, said : 
' ' Sweet bird, to hear thy heavenly strain 
To-morrow I will come again." 

As home in raptured mood he hies, 

His way through palms and cedars lies, 

Till, near the abbey's fair domain, 

The oaks and firs appear again ; 

Murmurs the stream ; the fields look gay, 

As seen before at break of day ; 

Only the house seemed somewhat strange, 

Although he scarce could tell the change. 

He steps into the porch, and there 

A monk, with cold and distant air, 

Accosts him : ''Sir, your will make known. 

You seem to think this house your own ? " 

Straight he replies : ' ' Why this to me ? 

I'm brother Probewell, as you see." 

" Probewell ! " the monk affrighted cries ; 

' ' O ghastly sight to meet my eyes ! 

A thousand years ago and more 

That name one of our brethren bore ; 

But legends old of him relate 

He met with a mysterious fate ; . 



470 66. I saw a new Heaven and a new Earth. 

For, wandering in the wood one day, 
He disappeared — how, none could say." 

Poor Probewell heaves a sigh profound, 

Casts a bewildered look around — 

Anon to heaven uplifts his gaze, 

And thus in humble accents prays : 

" O Lord, at last, with shame, I own 

How far astray Thy child had gone. 

So slow of heart I was, and blind, 

That painful doubts assailed my mind, 

If when at last Thy face we see 

In heavenly bliss perpetually, 

The soul will be contented quite 

With the long beatific sight, 

And never, never weary grow 

While countless ages come and go ; 

And, lo ! from Paradise a bird, 

By Thee commissioned, has appeared, 

Which sang of the new heaven and earth 

To rise at nature's second birth, 

And merely with its charming lay 

So stole my ravished heart away 

As made a thousand years fly past 

And seem scarce one short hour to last. 

Oh ! how then shall it be when breaks 

That morn which all the dead awakes, 

When I shall see Thy glory shine 

Unveiled, and merge my heart in thine ? 

What sense have they of time's swift flight 

Who in the one chief good delight ? 

And even eternity is nought 

To those who see the face of God." 



Verses 5 and 6. "And He that sat upon the throne said, 
Behold, I make all things new. And He said unto me, 
Write : for these words are true and faithful. And He 
said unto me, It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the 
beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is 
athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely." 

"Intake all things new" spake He that sat upon the throne, 
and who calls Himself the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning 
and the end. Is there not in this very name an intimation that 



66. I saw a new Heaven and a new Earth. 47 1 

He who bears it forethought and foresaw, even at the first be- 
ginning, what was to be the end ? Must not a being to whose 
eye time and space interpose no barriers, live now and ever- 
more in view of what shall eternally be ? As for time, what is 
it but a little fragment of eternity — a few drops in that infinite 
ocean ! Accordingly, the things which God makes new are all 
the while in His sight likewise the things which were old ; and 
it is only to us, who are ourselves made new, and who grow 
and ripen in time and with time, that the marvels of his eternity 
will be new. In that eternity my spirit also, withdrawn from 
time, desires to live. Above the dark floating clouds there is 
a blue heaven which is never shaken, and never changes. On 
the lofty summits which the sounds of earth do not reach, 
reigns everlasting calm. Oh that in that calm my spirit could 
be merged, and there find rest and peace ! It is a drama of 
bitter tears which the fallen race of men are performing here 
on earth, and shall perform until the day of redemption. In 
their sorrows and conflicts I must needs take a part, but I do 
it with the undoubting presentiment of an endless victory. 
" These words are true and faithful," so spake the lips of truth ; 
and even though here on earth hell were to celebrate far greater 
triumphs than she actually does, her temporary victory but 
leads to her everlasting overthrow. 

Soon all my sorrows shall I lay- 
Down in the silent tomb — 

Glory shall be my bright array, 
The father's house my home. 

Angels shall my companions be, 
•My only feeling joy ; 

And God i.o laud and magnify 
For ever my employ. 



472 6j. The Creature shall be delivered 



67. 

fflyz Creature sjjall bt telftrob tram % Bctrtrase at 
Corruption. 

W^^y quivers and flaslies the flame as it glows f 
Why murmurs incessant the stream as it flows ? 
Forth rushes the tempest with furious bound, 
While the old world in silefice wheels round and round ; 
O elements, why do ye travail a?id strain f 
Aspire ye some goal everlasting to gain ? 
What ails tliee, O Nature ? bespeaks tlie u?irest 
Through all thy wide realm some deep woe in thy breast ? 
Yes, sadly she mourns ; for, alas ! in a day 
TJieform and the hue of her offspri?ig decay, 
Although she so fondly would see them arrayed 
With beauty and youth that were never to fade. 
Yet, Nature, fight on, and bewail not the doom 
Of thy children— they die but to RISE FROM the TOMB. 
And the day that redeems from His bondage thy Lord, 
Shall see thee to freedom and glory restored. 

Rom. xi. 36. " For of Him, and through Him, and to Him, 
are all things : to whom be glory for ever. Amen." 

Rom. viii. 21-23. " Because the creature itself also shall be 
delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious 
liberty of the children of God. For we know that the 
whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together 
until now. And not only they, but ourselves also, which 
have the first-fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan 
within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the re- 
demption of our body." 

WHAT a spectacle the creation presents when I figure 
to myself these words, " Of Him, and through Him, 
and to Him, are all things" inscribed upon every object ! Soli- 
tary and wan they stand, if we imagine their connection with 
God done away; but how do they all begin to glow, as it were, 






from the Bondage of Corruption, 473 

with many-coloured flame, when we imagine this connection 
restored ! Even when I think of any object as being a creature 
of God, how the conception gives it brightness and colour ! 
" Everything," says Luther, " which the word of God has 
created, is a little vocable from His grammar, by which He 
discloses His hidden nature." 

Of Him are all things. It is true that the apostle is here 
speaking principally of men, but yet what he says is really true 
of all things. They are, as it were, so many single letters of 
that word of power which called the world out of nothing ; and 
although they be not the reflection of God's countenance (for 
that He has withheld from man), they are yet the imprint of 
His footsteps. Of the material world the apostle affirms, that 
" the invisible things of Him, even His eternal power and God- 
head, are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are 
made " 1 — that is, by the creation of the world. And the Book 
of Wisdom says, that if the heathen, " being delighted by the 
beauty (of the works of nature), took them to be gods, they 
ought to have known how much better the Lord of them is ; 
for the first Author of beauty hath created them. But if they 
were astonished at their power and virtue, they ought to have 
understood by them how much mightier is He that made them. 
For by the greatness and beauty of the creatures, proportion- 
ably the Maker of them is seen." 2 If it were not the breath 
of the Almighty which bears up the eagle in the air, and paints 
the cheek of the rose, and on the earth gives impetus to the 
waters of the roaring flood, and in the firmament wings to 
the swiftly flying clouds, according to the description of the 
Psalmist, " Thou sendest forth thy spirit, they are created ; 
and Thou renewest the face of the earth ; " 3 if the universe 
were nothing but a piece of dead carpentry, a lifeless picture, 
and if the Eternal were not present in every corner of creation, 
— how could man possibly feel the consciousness, which in the 
bosom of nature he does feel, that he is near to and intimate 
with his God, so as often to think that he might speak to Him, 
1 Rom. i. 20. 2 Wis. of Sol. xiii. 3-5. 3 Psalm civ. 30. 



474 67. The Creature shall be delivered 

and could not but hear His voice resounding from the hills 
and valleys ? If the Architect do not still linger behind in His 
edifice, so that He can make us feel His breath, whence comes 
the fondness with which we cling to the works of nature, and 
experience from them a rapture which, for hours and days at 
least, cools the wounds and soothes the aching of our hearts ? 
No doubt philosophers would persuade me that my own heart 
is the book in which I read the grandeur and beauty which I 
behold in the material world ; but if it were so, why does not 
the writing within me quicken of itself? why do I not see it 
until I have looked upon the creation without ? Must it not 
be in that outward creation that the grandeur and beauty re- 
side, although, perchance, under restraint, seeing that only 
when I gaze upon the outward creation the thought of its 
grandeur and beauty emerges in my soul? Yes, doubtless, 
here also there is holy land — here also a habitation of God. 

" I have seen 
A curious child, who dwelt upon a tract 
Of inland ground, applying to his ear 
The convolutions of a smooth-lipped shell, 
To which, in silence hushed, his very soul 
Listened intently, and his countenance soon 
Brightened with joy, for, murmuring from within, 
Were heard sonorous cadences, whereby, 
To his belief, the monitor expressed 
Mysterious union with its native sea. 1 



Yes,- 



The universe is but a shell, in whose 

Deep bosom traces of its birth repose. 

You gaze on it with rapture, and yet why 

Is it so silent ? Gaze not, but apply 

To the twin-parted lips an eager ear, 

And pause the murmured harmony to hear, 

Which, like a solemn echo, seems to sound 

From the far home in which it being found, 

And intimates of life the ocean vast 

From whence it came, to which returns at last. 

Through Him are all things. The word which He uttered 

1 Wordsworth. 



from the Bondage of Corruption, 475 

on the morning of creation has never ceased to sound. As it 
called all things into being, so does it likewise uphold all 
things now and for evermore. This the apostle tells us in the 
words, — "Who being the brightness of His glory, and the 
express image of His person, upholdeth all things by the word 
of His power ;" 1 and this Christ Himself avers when He says, 
" My Father worketh hitherto, and I work." 2 Sweet and 
fresh are waters at their source ; but when they have flowed, 
or remained at rest awhile, they become tepid and bitter. 
But, like water direct from the fountain, the stream of life 
which runs through all created things, now and for ever flows 
and rushes as sweet and fresh as on the day of their creation. 
Such are my thoughts when I stand upon mountain-tops, and 
beneath me, from their feet to their snowy summits, find life 
in the grasses, in the soft rustling of the woods, in the crash of 
the avalanche, the gushing fountains, and the clouds that 
career above my head ; and still more when I again descend 
among the green corn-fields and the streams that surge in the 
valleys. Enraptured, I then exclaim, Yes ! it is His word of 
power that now sustains all things, as it did on the day they 
were made. 

From the world of men and its destructive forces, its con- 
flicts and sins, I fly for refuge into the tranquil Sabbath of 
nature. And yet is there really a perfect Sabbath here? Have 
war and destruction met with bounds which they cannot pass ? 
Is this solely a land of untroubled peace? Single hours of 
rapture and solacement, like those enjoyed in nature, are occa- 
sionally met with even in the world of men. But are the 
vanity and strife and ruin which in that world wound the heart 
— are these altogether unknown to nature ? No, indeed. For 
as she contains within her the image of all that is ennobling 
and delightful in humanity, does it not seem, on the other 
hand, as if we had smitten her with our distemper? Is it only 
in the human breast, and not also in the bowels of the earth, 
that destruction rages? Does the baneful poison prey on 
1 Heb. i. 3. 2 John, v. 17. 



476 6y. The Creature shall be delivered 

none but the children of men? Has it not spread into the 
animal and vegetable worlds ; nay, even penetrated into the 
mineral kingdom far down in subterranean depths ? What 
vice is there which has not its counterpart among the lower 
animals ? Of what single product of nature can we truly affirm 
that it is in all respects a successful and complete and perfect 
specimen of creative power ? Are there many of her special 
works which are not susceptible of improvement by human art, 
and which the human intellect cannot beautify and strip of 
innate faults and blemishes ? I read an acknowledgment to 
this effect from the pen of philosophers who are not known to 
have ever felt the yearning of God's children for a lost paradise. 
" There is none — not even the most beautiful of her creations 
— that is free from a certain discord," says one of the masters 
of natural science. 1 Oh no ! If the burdened spirit of man 
does at times draw breath afresh in the bosom of nature, even 
nature does not at every hour, at every place, and in every 
single production, offer what can give him contentment. 

The earth is fair enough to be for heaven a waiimg-pla.ce, 
Not from the heart the blessed hope of heaven to efface. 

Do we not, at the very outset of history, and immediately 
after the Fall, read the words : " Cursed is the ground for thy 
sake ; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life : 
thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee ; and thou 
shalt eat the herb of the field " ? 2 Do we not learn that man, 
when fallen, was forced to turn his back upon paradise ? Are 
not these thorns and thistles only one of the links in the chain 
of the baneful forces which manifest themselves through the 
whole domain of nature, beautiful although she be? And may 
not a confirmation of that primeval sentence, which came from 
the mouth of God, be found in the passage where our Lord 
calls these baneful forces the power or army of Satan, who is 
the great " enemy of mankind " ? "I beheld," were His 
words, " Satan as lightning fall from heaven. Behold, I give 
1 G. Forster. 2 Gen. iii. 17, 18. 



from the Bondage of Corruption. 477 

unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over 
all the power of the enemy." 1 And is it not to this that the 
prophet refers, when in figurative language he foretells that a 
branch from the root of David shall bear fruit ? " And there 
shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a branch 
shall grow out of his roots : and the Spirit of the Lord shall 
rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the 
spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the 
fear of the Lord ; and shall make him of quick understanding 
in the fear of the Lord : and he shall not judge after the sight of 
his eyes, neither reprove after the hearing of his ears : but with 
righteousness shall he judge the poor, and reprove with equity 
for the meek of the earth : and he shall smite the earth with 
the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips shall he 
slay the wicked. And righteousness shall be the girdle of his 
loins, and faithfulness the girdle of his reins. The wolf also 
shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with 
the kid ; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling to- 
gether ; and a little child shall lead them. And the cow and 
the bear shall feed ; their young ones shall lie down together : 
and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. And the sucking 
child shall play on the hole of the asp, and the weaned child 
shall put his hand on the cockatrice' den. They shall not 
hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain : for the earth shall 
be full of the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the 
sea." 2 

Alas ! that upon an earth overgrown with thorns and thistles 
the fallen children of' Adam can so easily forget heaven, and 
cease to long for it. What would they have done upon an 
earth on which there were no thorns or thistles at all? Was 
it not well that their punishment should at the same time be 
of the nature of a cure ? And if it was on man's account that 
the creature was made subject unto vanity — as the language of 
the apostle, " not willingly, but by reason of Him who hath sub- 
jected the same," clearly intimates — who but must involuntarily 
1 Luke, x. 18, 19. 2 Isa. xi. 1-9. 



47 8 67- The Creature shall be delivered 

subjoin, like the apostle, that this has been done " in hope" ? 1 
And if that be true, then does the future reserve for nature, 
no less than for man, a resurrection morn on which she will 
put on her festive robes. 

To Him are all thi?igs. This also the hopeful soul may ven- 
ture to utter with reference to the whole creation. It waits, 
as the apostle says, and even with earnest expectation, for the 
manifestation of the sons of God, being ordained to participate 
in their " glorious liberty," and to be then delivered from the 
" bondage of corruption." Within us, as we know, there lies 
a resurrection germ, which, though for the present restrained, 
shall on the day of our emancipation spring up, fostered by the 
vernal sun of the life everlasting. And in nature also a similar 
germ lies hid. The earth is, so to speak, the nurse of a king's 
son, who, when the babe was cast out, had to submit to be 
cast out along with him. But the babe shall one day inherit 
his father's throne, and then shall the earth also be exalted 
with him to glory. 

Fair art thou, earth, clad in thy bright array ! 
And when thy radiant beauty I survey, 
Enraptured I exclaim, Yes, thou art fair ! 

Such is the exclamation which even now from the mountain 
heights I shout down into the echoing valleys, and my heart 
palpitates. But my heart can scarcely hold its emotion when 
I anticipate the day on which, free from all error and sin, I 
shall shout it into a new and glorified world. 

It is true that the new heart, when emancipated from sin 
and error, sees nature in a fairer light than before. So that 
there was a certain measure of truth in the doctrine, that 
nature's glorification will consist in nothing but the glorifica- 
tion of our sense of sight, when all tears shall have been wiped 
from our eyes, and all burdens lifted from our hearts. From 
certain passages of his writings, this seems to have been the 
opinion of Luther. He says : " When we are in a cheerful 
mood, a little tree, or even a beautiful flower or shrub, gives 
1 Rom. viii. 20. 



from the Bondage of Corruption. 479 

us delight ; but when we are sorrowful we do not care to look 
at them. Heaven and earth shall be made new, and we be- 
lievers shall become one flock." It is also related of him, that 
being in company with some friends, after jesting for a while 
with each other, they came at last to speak upon serious sub- 
jects, such as the life eternal, and how the heaven and earth 
shall be made new, and how Adam and Eve fell out of paradise 
— that is, lost the grace and favour of God ; but that we shall 
all have a second and eternal life in the world to come. There 
shall then, he said, " be a new heaven and a new earth ; the 
flowers, and leaves, and grass shall be as beautiful and charm- 
ing as emeralds, and all creation lovely in the highest degree.. 
Let us only have the grace of God, and then the creatures 
smile upon us. Were I to command a flint to become a 
precious stone, it would be so from that hour. In the new 
heavens a delectable light will for ever shine. What we now 
would fondly wish to be, that shall we then become, and where 
the thoughts are, there will also be the body." 

And there can be no doubt that when, with hearts made 
perfectly free, we can smile into the face of nature, nature too 
will reflect back our smile with a loveliness far surpassing 
what we now behold. But neither what the apostle says about 
the deliverance of the creature from the service of vanity, nor 
the predictions of the prophet, nor the words of Jesus Christ, 
admit of such an interpretation. I am rather of opinion that 
the hostile and destructive forces in the domain of nature are 
not mere reflections from our beclouded eyes, but that the 
material creation is really destined to share in the liberty one 
day to be conferred upon the children of God. 

Thou God of mercy, who can tell all the delectation and 
grace which Thou hast in reserve for us Thine undeserving 
creatures ! Would we but reflect upon it, and grasp it with 
a strong and unwavering hope ; would we but live our life 
here below continually looking up to those blessed things 
and that ineffable inheritance into which, to our astonish- 
ment, Thou wilt one day admit us on reaching the land of 



480 67. The Creature shall be delivered, &c. 

freedom, how worthless would appear all the baits with which 
the fleeting pleasures of the world entice us ! The conscious- 
ness of our utter unworthiness of such displays of favour and 
compassion would check the very first motions of sin. At 
every retrospect of the past we are bowed down by the count- 
less memorials of Thy mercy. Yet, for all that, we have 
before us a whole eternity in which Thy mercy shall be still 
more largely unfolded to us. Happy the man who can 
embrace these things with a strong and lively hope, and being 
here on earth already saved, serves Thee, Thou God of love 
ineffable, with simplicity of heart ! 

A day will dawn when from on high, 

Heaven shall come down to dwell on earth; 

And then shall through creation fly- 
Once more the word that gave it birth. 

Full many a noble germ now hid 

Deep in our breasts as in a tomb, 
Waits the new "Let there be" Xo bid 

It wake to life, and bud and bloom. 

Yes, — even the elements that day, 
When freedom's shout rings through the air, 

Shall shake the dust of earth away, 
And as at first grow young and fair. 

As through the crystal, warm and bright, 

Pierces the sun's meridian beam, 
So through all creatures whom His might 

Has made, the breath of God shall stream. 



IV. 



W$z Circle of HJumatt ILife. 

#jr folio brill ieatfj me, zxz it flats alaag, 

%a maftt % most of life's brief fainter bag ? — • 

§4alb, t\z €\xxxz\ t^ieabs tlje fraab af grace, 

©0 jrtlp % pilgrim tnttriag an % rate, 

%xlo zxz t\z threatening storms obstnrt % sag, 

gitlbs Jjtm a refage m \zx saatiaarg. 

%\pi fjaab \z Ijalbs aatil, ia streagtjj iatreaseb, 

%\z paster tails \}m ta % jralg feast ; 

l!£{rere % nefo maa rtteibes tongtnial foob, 

%% bieb % alb ia % baptismal Hobo. 

^(jas traiaeb bg Ijome una Cjjnrrjj ta razzt % strife, 

$n manljoob's strengtlj Jje takes % Ma af |pfe ; 

§tnb first t\t bribe aab barioas seeae t*plortb, 

Ceteris same spat aa ajjjitjj ta serbe % JTorb. 

Jfest, i^rat t^re (wars af tail mag sfrrettlg glibt, 

pe tails % geatle jjelpmatt ta Ijis sibe ; 

g^ab labaars aa, till, alb aab frrearg grobja, 

Jiinb beatjj appraadjiag mafrrs % beteran boaja. 

%\zn razzt ijje maaraers raaab Ins sileat grabe, 

J^ab §ab abort far % bear frieab pt gabe. 



2 H 



68. On New- Year's Day. 483 



68. 

Nefo^gear's J9ag. 

The world is slippery, walk with heed — 
Points God the way, there show thy speed. 

Fortune is round and foils the hand — 
Built on God's Word, thy work shall stand. 

Satan is cunning, fear his wiles — 
If mocked, the mocker he beguiles. 

Strait is the gate, strive to pass through — 
If hard the strife, thy load undo. 

Life ' s fleeting, make of it the most — 
Count every step, or all is lost. 

Time's short, let there thy stake be small— 
In vast eternity embark thine all. 

Psalm xc. — A Prayer of Moses, the man of God. — Verses 
1, 2. "Lord, Thou hast been our dwelling-place in all 
generations. Before the mountains were brought forth, 
or ever Thou hadst formed the earth and the world, even 
from everlasting to everlasting, Thou art God." 

HOW beautiful a prayer for New-Year's Day ! Moses 
was an old and much-tried man, but age and experi- 
ence had taught him that, amidst the perpetual changes which 
are taking place in the universe, one thing at least remains 
immutable, even the faithfulness of Him who is " from ever- 
lasting to everlasting God." How far back into the past may 
the patriarch have been looking when he spake these words ? 



484 68. On New- Years Day. 

The burning bush, the fiery furnace of Egypt, the Red Sea, 
Pharaoh with his chariots of war, and the weary march of 
Israel through the wilderness, were all before him ; and in all 
of them he had experienced that " God is the rock, His work 
perfect, all His ways judgment." 1 But Moses was looking 
beyond these scenes of his personal history when he said, 
" Remember the days of old, consider the years of many 
generations," 2 and we may be sure that he was also looking 
beyond them when he indited the song, " Thou hast been our 
dwelling-place in all generations." Yes ; he was casting in 
his mind how God had been the refuge of Jacob and Isaac, of 
Abraham, Noah, and all the patriarchs. Moses could take 
a retrospect of above a thousand years, which had all con- 
firmed the truth. I can do more. At this point of time 
I can look back to the days of Moses and Joshua and David, 
and descending thence to the days of the Son of God upon 
earth, and of Paul and Peter, and all the saints of the Church 
down to the present hour ; and what a thousand years avouched 
to Moses, three thousand now avouch to me : the Lord is the 
dwelling-place of those that trust in Him from generation to 
generation. Yes ; and to Him who was the refuge of a Moses 
and an Abraham, I too in the day of trouble can lift my hands. 
Delightful thought ! That great Being who, during the lapse 
of three thousand years, amidst the countless changes of the 
universe, has to this day remained unchanged, is my God. 

Verses 3,4. " Thou turnest man to destruction ; and sayest, 
Return, ye children of men. For a thousand years in 
Thy sight are but as yesterday, when it is past, and as 
a watch in the night." 

From life to death there is but a step, and that step a 

moment. All, indeed, seem to calculate that to them it will 

be a step of immeasurable length, one counting upon fifty, 

another upon sixty, a third upon seventy or even a hundred 

1 Deut. xxxii. 4. 2 Deut. xxxii. 7. 



68. On New- Year's Day. 48 5 

years. But long steps always involve a risk, and often wholly 
miscarry. The fifty, or, it may be, the eighty years for which 
they look, seem to them a fortune too vast for any spending 
to exhaust. But, ah me ! every moment I live is so much 
subtracted from my life, and life is really little else than 
a lingering death. Of all fleeting things, what is there so 
fleeting ? Is it not swifter than the ship that passes over the 
waves — than a weaver's shuttle that is never at rest 1 — than 
a post who fleeth away 2 — than the rush of waters when the 
drought dissolves the snow 3 — than the smoke that vanisheth 
into the air 4 — than the shadow of a cloud coursing over the 
plain ? And yet, so thoughtless is man, that he fancies life to 
be of all funds the most inexhaustible. Let who will say if 
this be not playing the fool. It is, in fact, the very conduct 
on account of which the name of Fool is applied in Scripture. 
" Soul," said the wealthy husbandman to himself, when he had 
built his barns, — " Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for 
many years ; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry." But 
death sang to him in another strain, " Thou fool, this night 
thy soul shall be required of thee." 5 

How transitory we are Moses clearly shows in the words 
before us, by contrasting man's- brief span of life with the 
eternity of God. Such a comparison of man with God 
aftords the best means of knowing either what we are or what 
we are not. And yet who ever tries to estimate the shortness 
of his own existence by comparing it with God's eternal dura- 
tion ? It is true that here, as in all other respects, God can 
challenge us, and say, " To whom will ye liken me and make 
me equal, and compare me that we maybe like?" 6 In the 
passage before us Moses at least makes the attempt, saying 
that " a thousand years in His sight are but as yesterday when 
it is past." To a being of whom this can be affirmed, how 
brief must appear the whole successive generations of man- 
kind ! As morning succeeds night, so one race another, and 

1 Job, vii. 6. 2 Job, ix. 25. 3 Job, xxiv. 19. 

4 Psalm cii. 4. 5 Luke, xii. 20. 6 Isa. xlvi. 5. 



486 68. On New- Year's Day. 

they pass as in the twinkling of an eye. Often have I stood 
beside a flowing stream, and as I beheld wave incessantly fol- 
lowing wave, and still the new wave come, I have mused with 
unutterable emotion on the like instability of human life. We 
are, indeed, but dust and ashes. But then the Eternal knows 
that we are but dust and ashes, and this is one, and doubtless 
not the feeblest, of the pleas on which we can build our hope 
when we come before His face. 

" For He remembers we are dust, 

And He our frame well knows. 
Frail man, his days are like the grass, 

As flower in field he grows. 
For over it the wind doth pass, 

And it away is gone ; 
And of the place where once it was, 

It shall no more be known." 1 

But nevertheless, in this withering foliage of humanity the 
Eternal has made His abode. He erected His tabernacle 
among us, and " we beheld His glory." And what although 
this flower of the field perish before the evening wind ; it does 
not perish for ever, but will revive beneath a brighter heaven, 
and bloom afresh, never more to wither. How low the Scrip- 
tures abase man on the one hand, and yet to what a height 
they exalt him on the other ! And if so, I cannot but think, 
that on a New-Year's Day, while the chief impression received 
from all around is of the rapid flight of life, that impression 
ought not to be allowed to take exclusive possession of the 
mind. No ; on such a day, the more I am made to feel that 
I am dust and ashes, the more will I also feel the magnitude 
of that grace which has done for dust and ashes such great and 
mighty things. In approaching the throne of God, I derive 
confidence from a double source, — from the thought that I am 
nothing, and also from the thought of that glory which, not- 
withstanding, He has put upon mankind, and which He invites 
all to partake. 

1 Psalm ciii. 14-16. 



68. On New- Years Day. 487 

Verses 5-9. " Thou carriest them away as with a flood ; 
they are as a sleep : in the morning they are like grass 
which groweth up. In the morning it flourisheth, and 
groweth up ; in the evening it is cut down, and withereth. 
For we are consumed by Thine anger, and by Thy wrath 
are we troubled. Thou hast set our iniquities before 
Thee, our secret sins in the light of Thy countenance. 
For all our days are passed away in Thy wrath ; we spend 
our years as a tale that is told." 

Stout and strong to-day, 
To-morrow turned to clay. 

This day in his bloom, 
The next, in the tomb. 

It is true that to some Death sends his grey harbingers 
before, and gives them timely warning of his approach. But 
in how many cases does he arrive unannounced, and, lifting 
his scythe, mows down the lofty ! On shipboard there is but 
a plank between us and death ; on horseback, but a fall. As 
we walk along the streets, death stretches a threatening finger 
from every tile upon the roofs ! " He comes up into our win- 
dows and enters into our palaces ; he cuts off the children 
from without, and the young men from the streets." 1 Our 
life is less than an handbreadth. How soon and how insen- 
sibly we slip into the grave ! 

But while youth lasts, we pay no attention to this. We 
look at the advancing waves upon the flood of time, more than 
at those which have rolled past, and sing to ourselves — 

What though full many waves I see 

Sweep downwards to the main, 
The rolling flood continually 

Brings wave on wave again. 

There comes a time at length, however, when the eye involun- 
tarily looks back, and observing the many waves that have 
rolled past, perceives in spite of itself that few can now roll 
towards us from before ! We also find that the longer we live 

1 Jer. ix. 21. 



488 68. On New- Year's Day. 

the faster does life seem to fly, as if it were a task which 
practice rendered easy. Like a dreamless sleep, year passes 
after year, and when past, appears but a moment. 

In this fleeting nature of life, the aged Moses was made to 
taste the wrath of God. For the doom that had gone forth 
against that whole generation, without exception of himself, 
and by which they perished in the wilderness, nor ever entered 
the promised land, was the penalty of their disobedience. 1 
And all of us like him, in the frailty and mortality to which we 
are subject here below, may also, in a certain sense, be said to 
taste the divine displeasure at sin. We come to see that a life 
so sorely beset with wretchedness and frailty, cannot possibly 
be that true life which man would enjoy, were he still the pure 
and unfallen child of God. Is not the sigh — 

O land of substance, land of truth, for thee 
Longs my fond heart, yea faints thy light to see ! 

as often as it breaks from our bosoms, a confession that, like 
the prodigal, we are sojourners in "a far country" — a country 
governed by other laws than those of our native land, and into 
which sin has entered with death in her train? 2 Oh that even 
the withering grass of the field, and the fading rose upon the 
cheek, and all perishing things in this terrestrial vale, might 
teach me the mournful truth that I am the prodigal son, exiled 
from my home and country, and enduring well -deserved 
wrath ! 

Verses 10-12. "The days of our years are threescore years 
and ten ; and if by reason of strength they be fourscore 
years, yet is their strength labour and sorrow; for it is 
soon cut off, and we fly away. Who knoweth the power 
of Thine anger? Even according to Thy fear so is Thy 
wrath. So teach us to number our days, that we may 
apply our hearts unto wisdom." 

There are many who suppose that a clear and certain fore- 

1 Num. xxxii. 12-16. 2 Rom. v. 12. 



68. On New- Year's Day. 489 

knowledge of the day of their death would exert a very power- 
ful influence upon their mind. In this opinion, however, there 
must be some deception. All know full well that life cannot 
last above seventy, or, at the most, eighty years. If we reach 
that term without meeting the grim reaper with his scythe, 
there or there about meet him we surely shall. Death being 
thus the most certain of all certain events, why not begin at 
once the work of preparation for it ? And yet we do nothing 
of the kind. In place of preparing to die, we continue aug- 
menting the number of our sins. If, then, the thought of death 
from a distance of seventy or eighty steps makes so faint an 
impression upon the heart, would the impression be very much 
stronger if made from a distance of ten or twenty ? There is 
here room for doubt. 

And yet, on the other hand, the fact is undeniable that, at 
an advanced stage of life, when the landmark between time 
and eternity presents itself at no great distance, the thoughts 
do become more apt than formerly to range beyond it. We 
may hence fairly conclude that a premonition of death would 
be the most impressive of all intimations which a man could 
hear, at least if it discovered to him that he was close upon 
time's awful boundary. In that case, it would oftener strike 
his eye, and more readily suggest the question, what prepara- 
tion should be made. The good of meditating upon death 
consists in the incitement it gives to inquire after Him who 
has vanquished its terrors. Unless it lead to an acquaintance 
with Jesus, meditating upon death can have no effect in de- 
livering us from the convulsive embrace in which this life of 
sense enfolds the man unacquainted with a better. In fact, he 
who shudders at the reality, will shudder even at the thought, 
of death; and therefore, so long as Jesus has not taken away 
its terror from the soul, we will seek to avoid even thinking of 
it ; and the more unavoidable we find the thought, the more 
will our fright increase. It is not so with me. God be 
thanked ! I know Him who has disarmed death of his sting, 



49° 68. On New- Year's Day. 

and hence I can think without dismay that the steps to the 
grave are at the most but fourscore. 

That thought has for me no terrors, because I have learned 
where a sweeter rest is to be found than in the bosom of this 
sublunary world : it is in the bosom of God. To the man who 
has never had even a faint presentiment of the blissful Sabbath 
which the soul will there enjoy, it may appear an incredible 
thing when he is told, as by the Psalmist here, that life, even 
when it is sweetest, is only " labour and sorrow." He feels 
but the loss he sustains when the labour and the sorrow cease. 
He knows nothing of the gain which may then accrue. Mine 
is a different case. A lively sense of gratitude and joy kindles 
in my inmost soul when I reflect that, calculated at the longest, 
seventy or eighty steps will bring me to my journey's end. 
Let others quail at the milestones which stand by the wayside, 
and tell the passing pilgrim how small a portion of his journey 
is still before him compared with that which lies behind : for 
my part, I can behold them without dismay — nay, I hail them 
as I pass with joy; and to me such a milestone is every New- 
Year's Day. My looks are all the oftener directed homewards, 
and my pace quickens. Does it not even wing the feet of the 
fainting traveller to behold the towers of his native city rising 
above the mist, and appearing every moment more and more 
brightly to the view ? 

No doubt we must be sure about the place to which the way 
is conducting us. He who has found upon earth the city of 
his affections, and who with every onward step is only advanc- 
ing towards a mist, may well look upon New- Year's Day as a 
day of sorrow. Well may it be a dark and gloomy day to the 
man who, as a poor and humble pilgrim, is journeying to some 
royal city, where he has not a single friend to welcome his 
arrival, or offer him the shelter of a roof. A poor and humble 
pilgrim am I ; but, God be thanked ! I know of one who long 
ago prepared for me a place. 1 Hence it is, that as I pass the 
milestones, each in succession becomes an altar, on which I 

1 John, xiv. 3. 



68. On New-Year's Day. 491 

present oblations of gratitude and praise. There are many, 
I am aware, to whom the thought of the flight of time is 
dispiriting. For me, I feel and experience that " He hath not 
given to us the spirit of fear, but of power" 1 Fear enfeebles, 
but confidence invigorates the mind. 

Whoe'er has washed his sin and guilt 

In Jesus' blood away, 
And to Him cleaves like loving child 

Still closer day by day, 

With spirit undismayed will meet 

The lowering future's wrath ; 
Though floods may fall and tempests beat, 

He keeps his homeward path. 

I know what awaits me in my Father's house, and hence, 

Why should I hide that oft with longings keen 
To reach the better land my bosom swells, 
On whose celestial plains, full well I ween, 
That good the soul here vainly pants for dwells, 
Hailing with eager hope the happy day 
When death shall free my wings to soar away ? 

But I also know that " whatsoever a man soweth " here, 
" that shall he reap " hereafter, and therefore, 

In hope rejoicing precious seed I sow, 
Men's hearts the soil, the seed God's holy Word. 
And forth to see the growth full oft I go ; 
Tending it well in name of my great Lord — 
Not in my own — until the harvest come, 
When I shall reap the bliss of my eternal home. 



1 2 Tim. i. 7. 



492 6g. A Birthday. 

69. 

Soul. 
Lord, spare me yet one year, and it shall be 
Devoted all to duty and to Thee. 

Lord. 
The boon I grant ; but years are quickly flown, 
Seize then the DAYS, and make each day thine own. 

Luke, xiii. 6-9. " A certain man had a fig-tree planted in 
his vineyard ; and he came and sought fruit thereon, and 
found none. Then said he unto the dresser of his vine- 
yard, Behold, these three years I come seeking fruit on 
this fig-tree, and find none : cut it down ; why cumbereth, 
it the ground ? And he answering said unto him, Lord, 
let it alone this year also, till I shall dig about it, and 
dung it : and if it bear fruit, well ; and if not, then after 
that thou shalt cut it down." 

SO then a year, one year, the respite lasts : 
Whether I am to be cut down, or grow 
For ever in my Master's vineyard fair, 
All hangs on the decision of a year. 
Lord, three long years Thou didst the fig-tree spare, 
That emblem of my life in all its length — 
Didst dig about it, and the branches prune, 
Binding the tender shoots in the rude blast ; 
And duly as the year this day brought round, 
The fig-tree Thou didst visit, seeking fruit, 
And still hast spared it, though the search proved vain, 
Redoubling all Thy care and pains again. 

" Take then a book, and on its leaves inscribe 
What on thy fickle heart to write were vain — 



6g. A Birthday. 493 

All I have done for, all I've tried on thee." 

Master, Thy voice I hear, and my soul weeps, 
And self-conviction is what makes it weep. 
Oh yes, my heart is fickle, now so soft 
That fades each line as if on fluid traced, 
The next hour harder than unmolten brass. 
Well, such a book I'll write, and thus begin, — 
Footsteps of grace abounding in the life 
Of an unthankful child. Be that the title, 
And I will daily read it till the tale 
Is on the tablets of my heart engraved, 
The only volume large enough to hold it. 

How hast Thou cherished me, Thou God of love ! 
With larger truth repaid my faithlessness, 
And daily borne, and spared me, and forgiven ! 
Oft walked Thine angel at my side unseen ; 1 
Oft have I quailed before my foes, while round 
About me were Thy fiery hosts encamped, 2 
All unperceived, because faith's eye was dim. 
Yes ; still the ladder, once by Jacob seen, 
Stands unremoved betwixt the earth and sky, 
And if we would but upwards more aspire, 
To us the blessed angels would come down. 
Our hearts are shut, Thy heaven stands open wide, 
And angel after angel sallies forth. 
Jehovah, Thou who mak'st Thy messengers 
The winds, Thy minister the flaming fire, 3 
Oh take the fleshly bandage from mine eyes, 
That as I still encounter on my way 
The heralds of Thy love disguised, I may 
Through the dim veil their features recognise. 
Fondly I longed such visitants to see, 
Yet barred the entrance when they came to me. 
And how have I requited all Thy goodness ? 
Oh ! am I still Thy child, or have I been 

1 Psalm xxxiv. 7. 2 2 Kings, vi. 17. 3 p sa lm civ. 4. 



494 &9- A Birthday. 

Haply from the fair garden of Thy saints 
Uprooted long ago, like many a tree 
Which to the world seems to blossom fair, 
Though knit by scarce a fibre to the root ? 
The field which, watered oft and plenteously, 
Repays with thorns and briers the dresser's care, 
Is nigh to cursing. 1 Am I such a field, 
Curse-smitten ? Yes ; such were, indeed, my fate, 
Tried by the laws and precedents of man, 
Nor writ, nor advocacy could me save. 
For oft, oh yes, how oft, words cannot tell, 
I have been richly watered. But, thank God ! 
I know the phraseology of heaven — 
Know that on high the little vocable 
Oft has a larger import than on earth. 2 
Well know I, too, that when among the thorns 
That fence the field the sweet forget-me-not 
Stands a mute suppliant, the master ne'er 
Disdains the lowly beauty of that flower. 
Yet is he not with only flowers content, 
But asks for corn, and wheat, and wholesome herbs 
Reared by the hand of painful industry. 
Hear then, O Lord, my sorrow. When of old 
Thou to my care didst a small field intrust, 
To keep and dress it was my happiness ; 
I never thought of duty or reward ; 
I never felt the irksomeness of toil ; 
The day's employment was the day's delight. 
As years fled on, Thy love my bounds enlarged, 
And to my growing strength gave ampler sphere. 
Alas ! the larger field bore scantier fruit. 
Oh that for acting manhood's arduous part 
The might first love inspired were mine once more ! 
Not that the high pulse tamed, the bounding heart 
Sobered and cooled — not that I these deplore. 
1 Heb. vi. 7, 8. 2 Matt, xviii. 21, 22. 



6g. A Birthday. 495 

I wish not back the eyes with tears bedewed, 

The meltings soft, the raptures high, renewed. 

Childhood must pass with its caresses sweet, 

And manhood come, with toils for manhood meet. 

So the bright emerald robe of spring decays, 

And gives to autumn's golden treasures place. 

When in the Word Thou dost with zeal rebuke 

That slumbering Church which her first love forsook, 

Not tearful eyes, not bosoms all on fire, 

Are what Thy keen heart-searching looks require ; 

But first love's active zeal and busy hand, 

" Repent, do the first works" 1 is Thy command. 

• With throbbing bosom I approach the source 

Whence some proud river takes its origin ; 

And as I there behold the waters rise, 

Spotless as silver or the orient pearl — 

Yet how, still more and more as on they flow, 

Sluggish and dark at each remove they grow — 

Fast down my cheeks the bitter tears descend, 

And with the fountain's crystal waters blend ; 

So at my own life's fountain pensively 

I stand, and oft repeat the poet's sigh : — 

" Thou lowly spot, where first I saw the light, 
Experienced my first pleasure, my first pain ; 
Few else may know thee ; all who know, disdain 
Yet still one heart for thee with fondness burns, 
Constant to thee, where'er I wander, turns." 

Say, ye who know the heart, why does it beat 
Thus sadly at the place where the young eye 
Drank the first sunbeam, and life's pulse first throbbed ? 
Yet why o'er all the sunniest spots between 
Flies the fond look to linger on that scene ? 
Feel we the wish to live life o'er again, 
To seek the footmarks, by the storms of time 
All but obliterated, and once more 

1 Rev. ii. 5. 



49 ^ 69. A Birthday. 

Retrace them one by one, as from the way 

They deviate to the right hand and the left — 

Here o'er the flinty rocks, there through the marsh ? 

Ah, no, poor human life ! to have outlived, 

Is to have quite outworn, thy happiest hours ; 

Thy oil of joy swims on a sea of tears, 

Thy sunbeams are refracted on dark clouds. 

And — deepest aggravation of our woe — 

The drop which still bedews affliction's eye 

Is to it like the glass that cheats the vision, 

And multiplies one sorrow to a thousand. 

Live o'er my life again ! — Yes, the fond heart 

Yearns for the flood of our departed years, 

But yearns not for the bed in which it flowed 

Oh, could I grasp the torrent in my hand, 

And pour it forth afresh, and guide its way 

By a new course and channel to the main, 

Then would I wish to live life o'er again. 

In spirit thus, at my life's source I stand ; 
Gazing upon the silvery rill, methought 
My burdened heart to solace with the sight, 
But, lo, my tears have stained the waters bright. 

Yet is it so ? Does life but once begin ? 
Yes, only once for him, who must repair 
.To-morrow, while it lasts, this day's neglects ; 
For him who, as he journeys on his way, 
Bears onward with him still from stage to stage 
A vast and an accumulating load 
Of sins, and of omissions, debts, and cares, 
Up to the gates of the eternal world. ? 

Yes, it begins but once ; for time is swift, — 
No morrow ever overtakes to-day — 
No day is ever longer than another ; 
But, ah ! our debts swell like the avalanche, 
And if unpaid we leave them when we die, 
Unpaid they stand through all eternity. 



6g. A Birthday. 497 

Not such my case, oh no ; for I have found 
The elixir that imparts immortal youth, 
Overwhelms the gloomy shadows of the past, 
And life, both in its dawn and day, restores. 

blessed power of faith ! I know thee well ; 
Thou, like the great Creator's mighty fiat, 
Dost swallow, in a moment, ancient night, 
And call a new, more glorious world to light. 

Yes, I do know thee well ; and if this day, 
When by the guilt of a whole year weighed down, 
And even by my own partial heart condemned, 

1 yet can calmly lift my eyes to heaven, 
The praise, O wonder-working faith, is thine. 
Thou from the chaos in this breast of mine, 
Where midnight and despair had fixed their reign, 
Didst life evoke, and love to life again. 

What was I? I know not. What am I now? 
A new-born babe bearing his Father's name, 
A shield from every harm, upon his brow ; 
And who, though thousand foes against him come, 
Walks undismayed to his eternal home. 

Oh what a change, baffling all thought to fathom ! 
Sunk in despair, I only lived to sigh ; 
Now all my grief is turned to ecstasy. 
Then in Thy vineyard let me still remain, 
And Thou shalt seek no longer fruit in vain ; 
For though the past have Thy forbearance proved, 
Yet, sure, if grace for grace thus overflow, 
The heart, however cold, at last will glow — 
My first works I will do, and love as once I loved. 



Thou peaceful spot, where on my wakening soul 
The light of Grace its earliest radiance shed, 

And, yet untasted sorrow's poisoned bowl, 

Through my young being a sweet tincture spread. 

How does thine air, so soft and balmy, still 

The pilgrim warm in age's evening chill ! 

2 I 



498 7°- Baptism. 



Life oped to me her gates, and at my feet 
Scattered the glittering gauds that tempt desire. 

Proud Science called me to her sacred seat, 
And Art allured with all her smiling quire. 

The world my brow with honour's chaplets bound, 

And wide and wider stretched the circle round. 

Life's lowly hut a lordly palace grew, 
Swelled to a spacious sea the little lake ; 

Alas ! as if disaster it foreknew, 

On the wide scene, my heart began to ache ; 

And with a longing, mixed of joy and pain, 

Sighed for the little hut and lake again. 

And wherefore thus, even when at noontide high 
Sparkles life's sea, as if with gems bestrewed, 

Back to the peaceful lake of Infancy, 
Pants the fond heart with longing unsubdued ? 

It is because, while lasts sweet childhood's morn, 

The rosy hues of Grace the scene adorn. 



70. 

Baptism. 

Oh ill betides the little stone 

That on some desert waste is thrown, 

And there forsaken lies : 
And such by nature, child, thou wert, 
But now we take thee and insert 

Into a glorious edifice. 

Romans, vi. 4. " Therefore we are buried with Him by- 
baptism into death : that like as Christ was raised up 
from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also 
should walk in newness of life." 

IT is a joyful sight when the parent looks upon his new- 
born babe. " A woman when she is in travail hath sor- 
row, because her hour is come ; but as soon as she is delivered 



70. Baptism. 499 

of the child, she remembereth no more the anguish, for joy 
that a man is born into the world." x To see before me a life, 
of which I can say that it is a portion of my own — a human 
being bodily and spiritually knit by the closest and most indis- 
soluble bonds to myself — awakens deep emotion. The feeling 
is akin to pride, but pride it should not be ; for how can we 
be justly proud of what we only receive as a boon 2 Besides, 
the same thought which here uplifts the mind, is calculated 
also to humble it. For what patrimony can I convey to my 
offspring ? I may give him all that I am by nature. I cannot 
give him what I have become by grace ; and the errors, con- 
flicts, and defeats through which I have forced my way, await 
also him. Oh then, that at the very commencement of his 
course I could secure for him a blessing, which might serve 
for a helmet on his head, and a buckler about his breast, as 
he journeys on his way ! 

Surely there can be no parent but must have heartily thanked 
God for that passage of Gospel history which informs us that 
the Saviour welcomed little children when they were brought 
unto Him, and took them in His arms and blessed them. 
After this there can be no mistake that He loves the little 
ones ; that He does not despise them because they are born 
flesh of flesh ; nay, that He even looks upon them as possessed 
of softer hearts than ours. And if so, how can we ever doubt 
that He beholds it with approbation and delight, when, con- 
vinced that the best blessings we ourselves possess are those 
derived from Him, we bring to Him also our little ones and 
crave the same gifts for them ? He has declared that all who 
resemble these little ones — all who, like them, with eager eye 
and outstretched hand are seeking for a guide — are welcome to 
His kingdom ; surely, then, the little ones themselves must be 
heartily welcome too. They are so ready to obey the look, the 
nod, the word of man. Oh were the Saviour to undertake the 
charge of them, and from the first to operate upon their tender 
minds, with what alacrity they would follow His direction ! 

1 John, xvi. 2i. 



500 70. Baptism. 

It is true I do not clearly understand the way in which He 
imparts His blessing in the holy ordinance of baptism ; but 
just as little do I clearly understand how the blessing was im- 
parted to the children upon whom in the days of His flesh He 
put His hand. And yet nothing can be more certain than 
that it was no vain word which He then spoke, and that neither 
in infancy nor riper years did any one ever feel the Saviour's 
gracious hand upon his head without at the same time feeling 
the Saviour's gracious power within his heart. We are often 
conscious of a strong sense of gladness in all the veins and 
members of the natural man, and yet we cannot tell whence it 
proceeds. If, however, it arise from the imperceptible influ- 
ence of the air, which, warmed and tempered by the material 
sun, penetrates through secret and invisible pores, and operates 
with exhilarating effect upon the fountain of natural life, why 
may not the breath of the Spirit of Jesus be able to penetrate, 
with the same genial efficacy, into the human soul, and there 
awaken life in its inmost seat ? Oh when, in the plenitude of 
faith, I take the child which He has given me, and given me 
to rear for heaven, and presenting it to Him, say, — Lord, I 
know that of myself I am unequal to the task — I therefore 
choose Thee to be the proper Father of my child; receive 
him under Thy care, and train him in the right way, — this is 
an entreaty which He never will reject. He graciously answers, 
Yes. And what else but this gracious answer is the sacrament 
of baptism, which He makes the appointed minister of His 
Word dispense to my child? 

" He that believeth and is baptised shall be saved." For 
the present, indeed, the child is incapable of faith, and all 
that can be done is for me in his name to say, I believe. But 
then if the child believes me, and if I assure him, and confirm 
by actions the truth of my words, that there is none else to 
whom I can go for eternal life but unto Jesus, he will be dis- 
posed to believe that too on my assurance ; and in so far 
his faith is concealed and wrapped up in mine. Neither let it 
be forgotten that the Saviour opened His Church to believers 



70. Baptism. 5 01 

of all degrees — to the weak as well as the strong, to babes in 
faith no less than to full-grown men. Take, then, the case of 
a child who from the first dawn of consciousness is reared 
among those who love the Lord, and whom the mother, while 
feeding him with the nutritive milk of her breast, feeds also with 
the richer milk of her heart, even her faith in the Saviour, and 
why should we doubt that, from the moment he opens his eyes 
to gaze into hers, such a child is a shoot on the mystical vine of 
Christ ? Yes, long before either parent has uttered one word 
of instruction, have the mother's eyes been preaching to him 
in the truest sense of the term. And oh how much an eye can 
express — the eye of a mother — a mother's eye, which Jesus has 
enlightened ! The deep peace of mind, the holy resignation, 
the purified love, reflected in the eye of a Christian mother, 
all penetrate through her suckling's, as he gazes on it, and go 
straight into his heart. How much soul, too, there is in such 
a mother's voice when she soothes her babe, and how its holy 
tones reach his inmost being long before he rightly apprehends 
the meaning of the words ! Add to all this the silent and irre- 
sistible discipline which the manners of a Christian household 
never fail to exercise upon the members, and the daily obser- 
vation of a life purified by the Spirit of Jesus, in father and 
mother, brothers and sisters. Ah ! I am persuaded we lay far 
too much weight upon preaching aloud with words, and far 
too little upon preaching silently with works. As the flower 
in a dark cellar is attracted by a mysterious thirst towards the 
chink which admits the ray — as the infant himself, upon enter- 
ing the world, and before he has opened his eyes to the material 
light, turns to the side on which it shines — even so, I believe, 
before the intellectual powers have been roused to action, may 
the infant soul be drawn by a mysterious instinct towards the 
great source of spiritual light, and imbibing its beams, be un- 
folded for eternity. The apostle himself says of the children 
of Christian parents that they are " holy." l Nay, he tells us 
that " the unbelieving husband is sanctified by the believing 

1 i Cor. vii. 14. 



502 yo. Baptism. 

wife," in respect that mere fellowship with a Christian soul can- 
not but have a blessed effect even upon a heathen. And how 
then should the tender flowers of childhood, reared upon the 
soil of Christian faith, and in the atmosphere of Christian love, 
remain unblest ? 

Only let parents, when presenting their children to Jesus in 
baptism, present them in true faith, and for the sake of their 
faith, Jesus, I believe, will receive the little ones^graciously 
make Himself known to them, and bless them, however young. 
Nor will the bond of intimacy which He then forms with their 
souls be broken, at however early an age He may see fit to 
transplant them from the garden of earth to the garden of 
heaven. Of God's great garden this earth is but one small 
bed ; and if into that garden He have once by holy baptism ad- 
mitted a little plant, so will He also not fail to select for it the 
bed most propitious for its growth. Hence, O my child, I shall 
not be dismayed even though it should please the Lord to with- 
draw thee soon from my care. I know that He will intrust thee 
to a better care than mine. I have buried thee with Christ by 
baptism unto death. Now then thou art dead, and thy life is 
hidden in Jesus, but sooner or later He will bring it to the light. 

Little one, thou art now not mine only ; thou art also the 
babe of Christ. No more a child of low degree, thou art 
henceforth the offspring of a great King, and we owe thee re- 
verence. I have received thee from the hand of Jesus, and 
into the hand of Jesus must I deliver thee back. When our 
Lord beheld the young daughter of Jairus upon the bed, 
"The damsel," He said, "is not dead, but sleepeth ;" and re- 
calling her departed spirit, He restored her to her parents, that 
they might give her food, and invigorate her reawakened life. 1 
Even so, my child, He who is our common Lord has roused 
thee from thy sleep and consigned thee to my hands, that I 
may nurture and train thee up. Oh, when I this day call to 
mind the woe which He has pronounced against those who 
shall offend a little child, 2 how my soul is overpowered by its 

1 Mark, v. 43. 2 Matt, xviii. 6. 



70. Baptism. 503 

weight ! It may be that thou wilt forsake thy Master, but God 
forbid that thou shouldst ever have cause to charge me with 
having offended thee ! Little one, as thy sponsor, I have to- 
day declared in the sanctuary 1 believe, and by so doing have 
become answerable for thy faith. Now, therefore, it must be 
my concern and endeavour that thou mayest one day appear 
in the sanctuary for thyself, and in thine own name confess, I 
believe. But God be thanked ! this concern pertains not to me 
only. No ; He who woke thee from thy slumber, and con- 
signed thee to my hands, has heard my prayer — heard me 
acknowledge that of myself I am unequal to the task. God be 
thanked ! the child is His as well as mine. 

Kind and gracious Master, oh what a debt of gratitude I owe 
Thee for providing my little one, at his very entrance into life, 
with such a shelter and defence ! I will repeat to him from day 
to day that he no longer belongs to me alone. I will remind him 
whose hand has been laid upon his head, whose blessing he 
has received, and into what a goodly vineyard grace and pity 
have transplanted him. Yes, my child, thou art indeed come 
into the land flowing with milk and honey. That is the sweet 
food of all who dwell in the region of grace ; and hence the 
custom in the ancient Church of giving milk and honey to the 
babe they were baptising. I will tell him what a solemn en- 
gagement I have undertaken in the sanctuary. Surely he will 
be unwilling that my word should be broken. And even though 
he might not scruple thus to put to shame his father on earth, 
never, surely, will he think of putting to shame that heavenly 
Father by whom he has been adopted. No ; he will enter the 
battle like a hero, having now a Captain to lead him on. Nor 
does he require to fight in his own strength. He will fight in 
the strength of his Prince, who is the Prince of Life. In the 
baptism of the ancient Church they anointed the child with 
oil. It was an emblem of that unction of the Holy Ghost by 
which he will now be enabled to run his race and not be weary. 
" When I passed by thee, and saw thee polluted in thine 
own blood, I said unto thee when thou wast in thy blood, 



504 7 C - Baptism. 

Live; yea, I said unto thee when thou wast in thy blood, 
Live." 1 O my child, it is the almighty God of heaven and 
earth who allures thee with such language. Canst thou resist ? 
Remember thou didst not first love Him. No, He first loved 
thee, and, moved by love alone, drew thee to Himself, arrayed 
thee when naked in a royal robe, put bracelets on thine arm, a 
chain about thy neck, and a crown upon thy head. All this 
He did, not only without desert of thine, but before thou 
couldst even choose between good and evil. And against such 
loving-kindness canst thou harden thy heart ? It cannot be. 
Thou wilt yield to the love of Jesus. It will govern thy heart 
and guide thy life. It welcomed and embraced thee on thy 
entrance into the world, and thou, to show thy gratitude, wilt 
cleave unchangeably to it, drawing from it supplies of vital 
strength to invigorate thy weakness. 

Oh that it may be my lot with thee, and with all who are 
and who may yet be mine, one day to enter His presence, and 
say, " Behold, O Lord, here am I, and the children whom 
Thou hast given me"! 2 

Take this babe whom we present, 

Lord, to Thee, and own him Thine. 
On his heart Thine image print, 

On his brow Thy seal divine ; 
That when the deadly foes assail, 
Thy name and sign may turn them pale. 

Flesh of flesh, of Adam's race, 

Naked thou wert born and blind ; 
Chosen now by sovereign grace, 

And for child of God designed, 
Where is the seraph in the skies 
Who dares thy lineage despise ? 

Forth into the war of life, 

Now for thee there's no retreat ; 
Yet to shield thee in the strife, 

Wear the sign that wards defeat. 
Lo ! as the drops thy brow bedew, 
Methought a conqueror's wreath they grew. 



1 Ezek. xvi. 6. 2 Isa. viii. ii 



71. Profession of Faith. 505 

Child, thy pedigree survey, 

Offspring both of heaven and earth, 
And when mingling in the fray, 

Ponder well thy twofold birth. 
This will a watchful care inspire, 
With courage that thy bosom fire. 

If the foe shall tempt to slumber, 

Bent thy soul by stealth to slay, 
Show him thou dost well remember 

That the feeble child of clay 
To watch and strive has constant need, 
In such an arduous war to speed. 

But if open force he try, 

Counting thee an easy prey, 
Then assert thy lineage high, 

Prove thy heavenly birth, and say, 
He whom God to crown engages, 
Laughs at Satan when he rages. 



71. 

Profession of iFattij. 

The food with which the babe is nursed, 

As still in arms he lies, 
The mother s self partakes of first, 

Then from her breast supplies. 

An infant at the mother s breast 

Pve been until this day, 
And faitK s sweet manna, her repast, 

Has nourished me alway. 

And I have fared so well that now, 

When free a change to try, 
That food, I at the table vow, 

Shall feed me till I die. 

Col. ii. 6, 7. " As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus 
the Lord, so walk ye in Him : rooted and built up in 



5 o6 71. Profession of Faith. 

Him, and stablished in the faith, as ye have been taught, 
abounding therein with thanksgiving." 

SO then I have this day emerged, as it were, afresh from 
the baptismal waters. There my beloved parents once 
promised and vowed in my name that I should believe in and 
love the Lord, and I will bear them testimony that they have 
done their utmost to redeem the pledge. Now, however, I 
have promised and vowed for myself, and to redeem the pledge 
must henceforth rest with me. Hitherto my faith has been 
involved in and sustained by theirs, but from theirs it must 
now be disengaged, and manifest itself independently. 

First of all, then, to you, dear parents, I this day offer my 
warmest thanks. At an age when I was myself unable to 
choose, you chose for me, and dedicated me to my Saviour. 
From earliest childhood that dedication has been my guiding 
star ; often has mine eye been lifted up to gaze upon its bright- 
ness, while my heart felt unutterably glad. Oh how can I 
thank you as I ought ? Twice have you conferred on me the 
gift of life ! 

" Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, 
whereunto thou art also called, and hast professed a good pro- 
fession before many witnesses. I give thee charge in the 
sight of God, who quickeneth all things, and before Christ 
Jesus, who before Pontius Pilate witnessed a good confession ; 
that thou keep this commandment without spot, unrebukable, 
until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ : which in His 
times He shall show, who is the blessed and only Potentate, 
the King of kings, and Lord of lords ; who only hath im- 
mortality, dwelling in the light which no man can approach 
unto ; whom no man hath seen, nor can see : to whom be 
honour and power everlasting." 1 

How heart-stirring an appeal ! Is it not just the appeal 
which the great apostle, had he been this day present in the 
sanctuary, would have addressed to me ? Yes : I, too, have 

1 1 Tim. vi. 12-16. 



71. Profession of Faith. 507 

this day made my profession. I have made it before many 
witnesses — witnesses visible and invisible ; before the congre- 
gation of Christians on earth, before the glorified champions 
of the Saviour in heaven, before my Saviour Himself. Never, 
O my soul, let me forget that / have this day done homage to 
Jesus as my King, sworn to be faithful to Him — sworn that I 
acknowledge Him as Sovereign, and that as His subject I will 
live and die. We read in Scripture of the captains who did 
homage to David, saying, " Thine are we, David, and on thy 
side, thou son of Jesse : peace be unto thee, and peace be to 
thine helpers ; for thy God helpeth thee." 1 Even so, O hea- 
venly Son of David, do I now swear the oath of allegiance to 
Thee. I will be on Thy side so long as I live. Let Thy 
peace be mine ; for Thy God helpeth Thee. 

Many are my adversaries, and of great power. I must, I 
see, gird myself for battle. In Scripture the young are spe- 
cially summoned to the spiritual conflict. " I have written 
unto you, young men," says St John, "because ye are strong, 
and the word of God abideth in you, and ye have overcome 
the wicked one." 2 Behold in the ranks of the advancing foe 
foremost comes the lust of the flesh. Engrave then, O Spirit 
of the Lord, indelibly engrave upon my memory that I am no 
longer my own. Not only is my soul my Master's ; my body 
also is His — and like a jewel which He has committed to my 
care, I must keep it for Him unblemished and unstained. 

Nor am I less apprehensive of the pride of the natural heart. 
How at this season of life is all about me calculated to fan 
into a flame the innate sparks of ambition ! while I feel that 
my own heart within thirsts all too keenly for human honour 
and human praise. And yet the praise of man, like the fumes 
of sulphur, will turn the fairest rose of virtue pale. Hitherto I 
have had little experience of the magnets which the world pre- 
sents, and by which she so powerfully attracts the affections. 
Now my intercourse with it will increase from day to day, and 
all that flatters the lust and vanity of the flesh will be employed 
1 1 Chron. xii. 18. 2 i John, ii. 14. 



508 71. Profession of Faith. 

to tempt me. Oh how I wish still to preserve my soul in 
soundness and simplicity, that amidst all enticements, however 
powerful, it may still feel and own the influence of the eternal 
magnet ! The hymn written by the pious Spangenberg on 
simple-mindedness stirs with a strange power my inmost 
heart : — 

' ' Holy grace, of graces rarest, 

Might and wisdom's purest beam, 
Kindling love, of gems the fairest 
Miracle of power supreme. 

Freedom is a fettered captive, 

Riches but an empty wind, 
Beauty's self a charm deceptive, 

Severed from a simple mind. 

Eye within, when thou art single, 

All the soul is full of light ; 
But if jarring aims we mingle, 

Mist and darkness dim thy sight. 

Simple heart, thou ever burnest 

For the one chief good above, 
To the heavenly loadstone turnest 

With entire and constant love." 

Oh, should the magic veil which the charm and glitter of 
the world draw around the eye, ever intercept or obscure my 
view of the Saviour, resound, sweet hymn, in my inward ear, 
and dissolve the spell ! 

Great is the power of temptation, and I am without strength, 
for though the spirit be willing, the flesh is weak. But weak 
although I am, my Lord is mighty. The vine is among the 
feeblest of plants, and yet, if fastened to the pole, it borrows 
a strength not its own, and bears a load of generous clusters. 
And, like the vine, let me but lean upon my Master's cross, 
and I will grow strong, and be enabled to bear fruit unto Him. 
The venerable Luther used often to say, " I would not wish to 
have my soul in my own hands, for if it were, Satan would 
long ago have snatched it away, in the twinkling of an eye, as 
the vulture does the chick; but from the hands of God, to 



71. Profession of Faith. 509 

whom I have intrusted it, neither the devil nor any else will 
ever pluck it out." The blood was yet young in his veins 
when the chaste Joseph tore himself from the arms of seduc- 
tion, saying, " How shall I do this great wickedness, and sin 
against God ? " Daniel, too, was a youth when he refused to 
eat his portion of the king's meat, choosing rather to incur the 
wrath of an earthly monarch than transgress the command- 
ment of his God. At the same early age, what insult, mockery, 
and persecution did not David endure at the court of the un- 
godly Saul ? And yet he avouched, in faith, " The Lord is my 
light and my salvation, whom shall I fear ? The Lord is the 
strength of my life, of whom shall I be afraid ? " * Oh that I 
possessed a courage like his ! 

Nor must I expect temptation to arise solely from within my 
breast ; I must also be prepared to encounter it from without. 
Having this day vowed to own my Lord before all the world, 
should I not be ready to suffer shame before all the world, 
rather than prove false to Him ? " My son, if sinners entice 
thee, consent thou not," 2 is the admonition of heavenly wis- 
dom — and to me it is addressed. I must muster fortitude, in 
the face of mockery, insult, and disgrace, to avouch with the 
Psalmist, " Thy testimonies have I taken as an heritage for 
ever; for they are the rejoicing of my heart." 3 That is 
the proper courage for youth. Surely it is courage of a far 
nobler kind than his, who, for the sake of what men call 
honour, is ready to sacrifice life. Turn, dear Master, oh turn 
away mine eyes from the garlands which the world confers, 
and fix them upon the crown of glory which Thou offerest. 
Those shall wither ; but this endures from eternity to eternity. 

This is my better birthday ! On the day of my natural birth, 
as it annually returns, I fall upon my knees and adore Him who 
called me to the light of the material world. I look upon this 
as the birthday of my spirit ; and on it also I kneel, and adore 
Him for opening to me the door of His glorious heavenly king- 
dom. Nor shall I forget to keep it. I shall keep it every time 

1 Psalm xxvii. i. 2 Prov. i. 10. 3 Psalm cxix. in. 



510 ji. Profession of Faith. 

I approach the holy table, to which I have now obtained access, 
there to partake of the body and blood of the Lord, and to 
show forth His death. I will avouch before His assembled 
people that He only is to me the bread of life. I will thank 
Him for having inserted me, though but to fill some little chink, 
in the great and glorious edifice of His Church — that Church 
of which Himself is the chief corner-stone. I regard this as a 
distinguished honour. Humble may be the place allotted to 
me in human society; but let it fully satisfy my soul to be 
assured that " I shall dwell in the house of the Lord for ever." 
From time to time in the Holy Supper I will set up afresh a 
memorial of my sins, that I may never lose sight of them, nor 
forget the suffering which they brought upon my Saviour. From 
time to time in the Holy Supper I will assure myself anew that 
mine were among the sins for whose remission the blood of the 
New Testament was shed, and the pledge He there vouchsafes 
me of their pardon shall be my provender on the journey to 
the eternal world. In this way, O Lord, will I show Thy death 
until Thou — come again. 1 Yes, come, Lord Jesus, oh come ! 
and by Thy help may I be found " blameless in the day" of 
Thy appearing. 2 Grant me to be faithful, that as I have now 
been enrolled a member of Thy Church on earth, I may also 
become a member of Thy Church in heaven. There, also, 
shall we celebrate the Supper ; and, oh, " blessed are they who 
are called to the marriage supper of the Lamb " ! 3 Help me, 
O Lord, that I may be found among them. 

My name is entered on the list, 

I've plighted hand and word, 
To love and live for none but Christ, 

My Saviour and my Lord. 
Ye comrades in the ranks below, 

And ye who wear the crown, 
Witness the irrevocable vow 

That seals me as His own. 



1 i Cor. xi. 26. 2 1 Cor. i. 8. 3 Rev. xix. 9, 



72. The Holy Supper. 5 1 1 

And I will prove that vow sincere, 

Whate'er the cost may be ; 
Nor weal nor woe, nor hope nor fear, 

Shall shake my constancy. 
For Him I will not love my life, 

But shame and death defy ; 
Undaunted in the hour of strife, 

And meek in victory. 

Oh, happy soldiers they who serve 

Beneath Thy banner, Lord ! 
And light the task, if Thou but nerve 

The arm, to wield the sword. 
The sacred pledge in childhood given, 

To such success secures ; 
And still they hear a voice from heaven 

Repeat, " The prize is yours. " 

And since Thy truth stands like a rock, 

That voice can might impart 
To brave of hostile foes the shock — 

Yea, quell the rebel heart. 
Though Satan fiercely rage without, 

And fears o'erwhelm within, 
Rings in the air Faith's victor shout, 

' ' Against the world I'll win. ' ' 



72. 

&jje Iklg Supper. 

Thine is a richly-furnished board, 

And royal-like the fare ; 
When to regale Thy friends, O Lord, 

Thou dost the feast prepare. 

" Soul, eat and drink," Thou say'st ; and if 

We hear Thy voice divine, 
There's in the bread eternal life, 
And Spirit in the wine. 

Matt. xxvi. 26-28. " And as they were eating, Jesus took 
bread, and blessed it, and brake it, and gave it to the 



512 7 2 - The Holy Supper. 

disciples, and said, Take, eat ; this is my body. And He 
took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, 
saying, Drink ye all of it ; for this is my blood of the 
new testament, which is shed for many for the remission 
of sins." 

I DESIRE, in the sincerity of my heart, to draw near, not 
unworthily, to the table of my Lord. Alas ! however, I 
am weak, and of myself unequal to such a duty. I turn, there- 
fore, to Thee, O Holy Spirit ! It is Thy office to enlighten 
the darkness of the human soul. Come to my aid, vouchsafe 
Thy light, and enable me to know myself. I am about to show 
forth the Lord's death before the Church ; and there can be 
no better preparation for doing so than that I should once 
more fully realise what the Lord is to me, and what I should 
be to Him. 

I confess unto Thee, O holy God, that I am a poor hell- 
deserving sinner, whose words and works, whose heart and 
walk, have merited a thousandfold Thy righteous displeasure. I 
confess that in my inmost soul there dwells a criminal aversion 
to thy commandments, and an ever-recurring reluctance to do 
Thy holy will ; that my flesh is ever prone to seek, with all 
eagerness, the good things of earth in preference to those that 
are well-pleasing in Thy sight ; and that every day whole hours 
elapse in which I never once remember that Thou art my 
Master, and that I am Thy servant. I confess before Thee, O 
holy God, without excuse or palliation, that I am yet far from 
loving my fellow-men with pure and self-denying affection; 
that I am more ready to look to my own advantage than to 
study my neighbour's good ; that I am fonder of being minis- 
tered unto by others than of ministering unto them. And as 
for Thee, O Jesus, whom I purpose this day once more to con- 
fess before Thy people, alas ! how often, by word and deed, have 
I not shamefully denied Thee ? I am about to celebrate Thy 
death — that death to which Thou wert brought by generous 
love to the sheep of Thy flock. And yet how painful I feel 



72. The Holy Supper. 513 

self-denial to be, even when all I am called upon to surrender 
for my brethren is some paltry fragment of my worldly sub- 
stance ! Behold, I conceal from Thee no part of my guilt, that 
no part of it may remain unforgiven. I will cover none of 
my stains, that Thou, O gracious God, mayst wash them all 
away. " Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean : wash 
me, and I shall be whiter than snow. Make me to hear joy 
and gladness, that the bones which Thou hast broken may 
rejoice." * 

Lord, who is worthy to dwell in Thy temple? In the 
counsels of Thy grace, this honour is assigned to him only 
who knows how infinitely it exceeds his deserts. Dear Master, 
in the days of Thy flesh Thou wert the friend of publicans 
and sinners, but didst reject those who were righteous in their 
own eyes. Thou art Thyself the Shepherd who left the ninety- 
and-nine sheep in the wilderness to seek the one that was lost. 
And even now, on a day like this, all Thou requirest* of us is 
just to be sincere before Thee. " Blessed," says the holy 
Psalmist, " is the man in whose spirit there is no guile." 2 I 
will therefore calm my anxious soul in Thy presence, provided 
Thy Spirit bear me witness that I appear at Thy table without 
guile. Whom dost Thou call to this feast ? Not the rich and 
strong, but the sick and needy. " Come unto me," Thou 
sayest, " all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will 
give thee rest." These are the terms in which, from time to 
time, Thou repeatest the invitation to Thy table, and only on 
such occasions do I fully comprehend their meaning. 

Dost Thou require a token that my penitential confessions 
proceed from the heart ? Alas ! full well I know that the 
tears I shed are not enough. A man never truly and at heart 
repents of his sin until he likewise parts with it, and desires to 
let it go. There is, I am aware, a false repentance that weeps, 
but only to be exempted from the penalties, in order that it 
may keep a firmer hold of the sin. And many, I am con- 
vinced, if called upon to part with their bosom sin at the 

1 Psalm li. 7, 8. 2 Psalm xxxii. 2. 

2 K 



5 14 7 2 - The Holy Supper. 

threshold, would even tremble to enter heaven. Keep me 
from such hypocrisy, O my God ! And yet, alas ! few pro- 
bably are wholly free from it ; for, otherwise, how were it 
possible for days like the present to produce so immate- 
rial a change in the customary routine of life ? Ah ! were 
the tears which are wept at the cross of Jesus not merely tears 
of a weak heart mourning over guilt, because guilt entails pun- 
ishment ; but were they, on the contrary, tears of a strong 
heart, hating sin because sin is hateful to God, — then, methinks, 
they would infallibly operate like a corrosive acid ; and al- 
though they might not at once eat away all the proud flesh from 
the heart, surely they would at least separate between good 
and evil in the walk and conversation ; surely they would cut 
furrows in the life which would be visible to the eye. Among 
the many delusions from which I need protection, keep me, I 
pray, from that of tears I Tears are, indeed, a precious fluid. 
Silent is their course as they trickle down the cheek, and yet 
they can cry to heaven more loudly than any prayer. Yes, 
great in the sight of God is the worth of genuine tears. 
Here, upon earth, we wipe them away, and to all appearance 
they are lost. But they are not lost. An angel collects the 
drops, and bears them into the presence of God. 1 This, 
indeed, is only true of genuine tears. And in every case where 
these are shed, there also the heart has become a fountain well- 
ing forth other waters — waters which moisten and fertilise the 
soil, so that it produces fruit. 

Zaccheus shall be my pattern. He presented himself to 
the Saviour and said : " Behold, Lord, the half of my goods 
I give to the poor; and if I have taken anything from any 
man by false accusation, I restore him fourfold." 2 Here, 
then, by a decisive test, we recognise a soul really prepared 
to part with sin. In the same way I look around me to see 
how my errors maybe repaired ; and wherever this is possible, 
it shall be done. Have I neglected those holy ordinances 
and means of grace, which Thou, O Saviour, hast conferred 

1 Psalm, lvi. 8. Luke, xix. 8. 






72. The Holy Supper. 515 

upon us ; this very day will I begin a new course, resign my- 
self afresh, in the exercise of calm meditation and the study 
of sacred Scripture, to the discipline of Thy Spirit, and 
cultivate closer fellowship with the children of God, that I 
may thence derive increase of strength. Have I been in- 
attentive to my business ; I will study to make up for past 
omissions. Have I dispensed my charities to the poor with 
niggard hand ; henceforward I will shrink from no sacrifice 
in order to make compensation. Have I failed in affection 
to my relatives; I will confess my fault; for he who wants 
fortitude to humble himself before men, never truly humbles 
himself before Thee. The little good I have done has been 
done in such a way that the left hand knew too well what the 
right was doing. But most pleasing in Thy sight are the 
charitable actions which are performed in silence, like oil when 
it is poured forth ; and the approval of the eye which seeth in 
secret should be more to me than the applause Of all mankind. 
I know, however, that these vows will prove just as un- 
steadfast as those which have preceded them ; and, alas ! do 
what I can, I cannot make good the past. So long as the 
root is not thoroughly sanctified, how can the fruit be good 
and holy? Hence it is that I thirst for grace, fox free grace, 
for the pledge of Thy forgiveness. During Thy sojourn upon 
earth Thou didst not disdain to be called the friend of publi- 
cans and sinners. Nor even now dost Thou refuse to enter 
the abode of a Zaccheus. To all like him Thou tenderest a 
pledge that, in spite of their sins, Thou hast not cast them off. 
Nay, as only in fellowship with Thee their souls can be healed, 
Thou unitest Thyself to them in spiritual wedlock. A holy 
thrill penetrates my soul when I receive Thy body and blood, 
and reflect who they are with whom Thou holdest such com- 
munion. And yet, O Lord, this is still Thy wondrous way, 
to humble and prostrate on the ground before Thou dost 
exalt. Thy language is, "I who dwell in the high and holy 
place, am with him that is of a contrite and humble spirit." 1 

1 Isa. lvii. 15. 



5 16 72. The Holy Supper. 

My heart, already melted by a sense of the greatness of my 
sin, is even more so when I think of the greatness of Thy 
mercy. " Rend your hearts, and not your garments," ex- 
claims Thy prophet ; " and turn unto the Lord your God." 1 
My heart is rent ; it has become soft and yielding ; take and 
mould it according to Thy will. 

"As often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye 
do show the Lord's death till He come." 2 So writes the 
apostle; and, in truth, O Lord, partaking Thy body and 
blood in the Supper is a sort of compensation for Thine 
absence — an earnest to sustain my hopes until the time when 
I shall possess Thyself. Thou enterest into my soul now 
mollified, and wilt this hour fill the spiritual mouth of Thy 
disciple as surely as he opens it and hungers after Thee. 
" Thy flesh is meat indeed, and Thy blood is drink indeed/' 
as Thou hast said ; and although at all times I am conscious 
of Thy presence, I yet thank Thee that in this ordinance 
Thou comest in a visible way to help my faith, and givest 
me assurance that Thou holdest communion with my soul, 
and art joined to me in spiritual wedlock. What the bread is 
to my body, a nutritious food ; what the wine is to my spirits, 
an exhilarating juice, — that, O my God and Saviour, are Thy 
body and blood to my soul ; they mysteriously impart to it 
nutriment and life. Yes, of a truth, never am I more sen- 
sible of the magnitude either of my own guilt or of Thy con- 
descension, than when. I leave Thy table, bearing with me 
the consciousness of being knit afresh as a member to Thy 
body. 

I can well conceive how much more elevating this solemnity 
would prove, could it be said of all who engage in it that they 
know what they do; and if that holy awe with which the 
thought of Thy condescension inspires the hearts of some, 
penetrated the hearts of all, and all hearts in an equal degree. 
On the other hand, however, it also puts me to shame when 
I see that Thou dost not reject even those of whom that can- 

1 Joel, ii. 13. 2 1 Cor. xi. 26. 






72. The Holy Supper. S l 7 

not just be said. Only let the heart be sincerely yearning 
after Thee, only let the soul be seeking comfort, although, per- 
chance, with ill-defined notions of Thee — a personal Lord and 
Saviour — Thou dost not withhold Thyself from it. And by so 
doing, oh what an example dost Thou set me not to scorn even 
the weak members of Thy Church, but on a day like this, with- 
out comparing or finding fault, to acknowledge myself one with 
all who desire publicly to show forth Thy death ! There, 
beside a veteran grown grey in the battles of the faith, sits 
one who appears (so far, at least, as is known to me) a mere 
child of the world; beside the youth of quality, some poor 
and aged mother; beside the man of learning, an untutored 
maid ; and yet to each of all these souls Thou drawest near, 
so truly and so closely that their spiritual mouth tastes the 
savour of Thy presence. This thought has often deeply 
humbled my carnal pride and love of censure ; for how lightly 
do I presume to deny the claim of many to fellowship with 
Thee, while yet it is evident that often where we least suspect 
it there is a secret yearning of the soul after Thee, and unalter- 
ably steadfast is the word Thou hast spoken : " He who com- 
eth unto me, I will in no wise cast out." 

And how dare I, the sinful fellow-servant, take upon me to 
cast out any who have not been cast out by Thee, the Master ? 
On this day I will learn to overlook the infirmities and forgive 
the faults of my brethren, especially those of my nearest con- 
nections. Thy Word declares that no oblation is acceptable 
so long as the heart which supplicates forgiveness of Thee has 
not itself learned to forgive others. When, therefore, I leave 
Thy table, refreshed by Thy love, I will meet them all with 
a new heart. They are not merely my brethren, they are also 
Thine. Oh, were there no other ground for loving and respect- 
ing them, let me love and respect them for this, that they have 
been nourished and refreshed by Thy body and blood. 

Give me grace, O my God, to renew my covenant with 
Thee ; and although I should again stumble, I will learn by 
degrees to walk with a firmer step. Most deeply do I feel 



5 18 72. The Holy Supper. 

how, more than all else, the thought of Thy condescension 
towards me, in spite of my many pollutions, softens my heart, 
and fits it for receiving Thee. On that account I go boldly 
to Thy table, in the confidence that I will find manna for my 
heart, that Thou art pleased to see me, wilt make me wel- 
come there, and that thus my hope shall not be put to shame. 
Herein vouchsafe, O gracious God, to help me, for Thy 
boundless compassion's sake ! Amen. 



Whom dost Thou, dear Redeemer, call 

To Thy sweet feast of grace, 
Admit into the banquet-hall, 

And at Thy table place ? 
'Tis not the proud, the rich, the strong, 

With earthly good content, 
But sick and weary souls, who long 

For nobler nourishment. 

Ah ! didst Thou for the pure alone 

The royal feast prepare, 
Small were the hope for such a one 

As me to find a share. 
But since the blind, the sick, the lame, 

Obtain admission free, 
I, too, will venture, in God's name, 

To join the company. 

Yet who would think the guests he sees 

Around that table placed, 
Were victims all of foul disease, 

With ghastly wounds defaced ? 
For, lo ! their generous Host provides, 

From His full store on high, 
For each a shining robe, that hides 

All his deformity. 

And I, in that bright garment dressed, 

Will to the table go ; 
For, Lord, Thou wilt not scorn a guest 

Because his rank is low. 
When others coldly close the door, 

Wide flies the gate of grace ; 
And he who was the least before, 

Obtains the highest place. 



7 3 • Outset in L ife. 5 1 9 

73. 

©utset in %\U. 

Forth o'er the wide and stormy flood 

My bark now steers its way. 
Fades in the mist my sire's abode, 

Now fades the tcpland grey. 
Haunts of my childhood! far away from you, 
Wide o'er the spacious main I cast an anxious view. 

But see, on ocean s farthest brim, 

Yon land so fair and bright, 
Emerging in the distance dim, 

Salutes my ravished sight. 
Speed well my bark / and on that radiant shore, 
Partings and seas and storms we'll fear no more. 

Psalm cxix. 9. " Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse 
his way? By taking heed thereto according to Thy 
word." 

AT last my little bark must leave the quiet bay in which it 
has hitherto found shelter, and venture forth into the 
mighty waters. Oh, who will help me to shun the cliffs and 
weather the storms, that I may reach in safety the destined 
haven ? 

I feel the paramount necessity of knowing, even in regard 
to my temporal calling, that I am walking in the ways of the 
Lord. Had I the smallest ground to suspect that the line of 
life on which I am about to enter had been selected for me, 
by either my own or my parents' vanity, my courage would 
fail at the very outset. But with the conviction that the Lord 
Himself has prescribed to me the way, I shall walk as with 
a hold of His hand. My daily work ought to be to me an 
act of worship, and my place of business a temple. Stablish, 



520 73- Outset in Life. 

therefore, O God, my fickle heart, that I may no more look 
aside to the right hand or the left, and no more court either 
the pleasures or applause of the world, but that in all I do, 
not excepting my temporal avocation, I may fix an unaverted 
gaze on Thee alone. When he wishes to take a good aim, 
the marksman closes one eye in order to collect the whole 
power of vision into the other. Make my eye single, that in 
all my pursuits Thy approbation may be my only aim. Thy 
approbation alone confers true greatness. The praise of his 
fellows can, no more than his own shadow, make a man either 
greater or less. May the testimony of a good conscience in 
the sight of God reward me every evening for the toils of the 
day. By dint of labour I must dig the blessing from the 
earth below ; but no less must my prayers draw it down from 
heaven above. Oh let me never lose sight of that slender 
and mysterious thread, which extends from earth to heaven, 
and connects every work of man with the Divine hand, that 
so I may continually remember that more depends upon Thy 
blessing, than upon any industry and skill of my own, or all 
the favour and assistance of others. 

Wild and tumultuous is the throng in which I now go forth 
to mingle. But in that throng, angels of Thine walk about in 
disguise. Oh that it may be my lot to meet with some of 
them ! Lord, I beseech Thee, from my inmost heart, that on 
my way through life I may not journey alone. Nevertheless, 
should Thy wisdom deem it better for me to want a friend, 
and live solitary on earth, then open to me all the more freely 
and fully the invisible treasures of Thy friendship ; and, in 
the strength I derive from secret fellowship with Thyself, teach 
me to walk to Thy praise before the children of the world. 
" Evil communications corrupt good manners," 1 is a precept 
of Gentile wisdom. To the danger of which it warns let me 
never be insensible. In journeying through the world, we 
walk upon ice and in the midst of thorns. Give me a dis- 
criminating mind, that I may discover of what spirit they are 

1 i Cor. xv. 33. 



73- Outset in Life. 521 

with whom I shall have to do. It is impossible to pass safely 
through life without possessing somewhat of the wisdom of the 
serpent, as well as of the simplicity of the dove. Thou ex- 
pressly requirest of the children of light to be not merely wise, 
but prudent?- like the children of this world. We are to " walk 
circumspectly." 2 

Look well before thee and behind, 
Fickle and false are men by kind ; 
As nettles burn and thistles sting, 
The heart is a deceitful thing. 

This is an admonition which I need to take home. I am too 
lavish of my confidence. It is an easy matter to give the 
hand ; but the hand once given, cannot so quickly be with- 
drawn. 

Beyond all doubt, however, the worst of our enemies are 
those we carry about with us in our own hearts. Adam fell in 
Paradise, Lucifer in heaven, while Lot continued righteous 
among the inhabitants of Sodom. Indifference to little sins 
and mistakes — the self-flattering voice of the heart, ever ready 
to sing its lullaby the moment conscience is roused — the 
subtle question of the serpent, " Hath God, indeed, said ? " — 
these are unquestionably the adversaries we have most to fear. 
There never was a fire but it began with smoke. I beseech 
Thee, therefore, dear Master, to give me a sensitive con- 
science, that I may take alarm at even small sins. Oh ! it is 
not merely great transgressions that can bring a man to ruin. 
Little and imperceptible ones are, perhaps, even more deadly ; 
according to the beautiful figure of Tauler, who says : " The 
stag, when attacked, tosses from him the great dogs, and 
dashes them to pieces upon the trees ; but the little ones seize 
him below, and tear the entrails from his belly." Let me 
never forget that, among all the avocations allotted to me, the 
principal is to be Thy champion and soldier. To this, accord- 
ingly, I must give my chief attention ; for " no man that 
warreth," saith the apostle, " entangleth himself with the 

1 Luke, xvi. 8, $p<m7«os. 2 Eph. v. 15. 



522 j?,. Outset in Life. 

affairs of this life, that he may please Him who hath chosen 
him to be a soldier." 1 My hands and feet shall perform my 
daily task, but my heart shall soar above it. The thorns that 
choked the seed of the word were the cares of this world? And 
true it is that worldly cares can so wind about a man as to make 
it impossible for him to extricate himself; and if once they wax 
rank and multiply, all hope of the growth and increase of the 
seed is for ever gone. The stalk may still stand, and the ears 
appear, but for the ripe grain in the ears we look in vain. Men 
begin with seeking to divert the mind, and they end with 
subverting it. Chase away the fowls that devour the corn. 3 
The fowls are amusements ; and they come with such haste, 
and so take us by surprise, that, ere we are aware, many a 
precious seed is snatched from the heart. 

And alas that the weapons Thou thyself puttest into our 
hands, even the precious means of grace, should be allowed 
to rust disused ! For me, should the time ever come when I 
cannot take up the sentiment of David and say, with truth, 
" The law of Thy mouth is better to me than thousands of 
gold and silver ; " 4 should the time ever come when, ex- 
hausted with the labours of the day, I feel no desire to drink 
in fresh strength from the fountain of Thy Word, — good reason 
shall I have for beginning to tremble at the state of my heart. 
Thy holy Word is the magnet by whose attraction the mind 
ought again to be raised aloft, when carnal sloth weighs it 
down to the earth. A little text daily taken from the Word, 
and laid up in the heart, is like a corn of spice. Touch and 
rub it, and every time it will emit new strength. Nor is the 
right observance of the Sabbath less a spiritual weapon, which 
we do not sufficiently use. The Christian who has to toil the 
live-long week, should esteem it one of the high privileges 
vouchsafed him by his Lord to be allowed to rest on the 
Sabbath, and live that day to his Lord alone. On the Sabbath, 
therefore, I will endeavour to disencumber my heart of the dis- 
quietudes of the bypast week, and to recruit it with God and 

1 2 Tim. ii. 4. 2 Matt. xiii. 22. 3 Matt. xiii. 4. 4 Ps. cxix. 72. 



73- Outset in Life. 523 

His Word. I will attend the preaching of the Word in the 
sanctuary, and will not there seek after oratory and eloquence, 
but content myself with the simple Gospel, whenever delivered 
genuine and pure. Whether the pipe that conveys it be of 
gold or lead, the stream of Thy Word is still mingled with 
water of life. It is right, too, that the body and the weary 
bones should rejoice upon the Sabbath; but this, before Thy 
face, dear Master, not behind Thy back. The joy we taste 
before Thy face, and no other, leaves after it a sweet and 
lasting relish. Besides, the Sabbath is the proper day for 
performing many an act of charity, for which no opportunity 
could be found during the week • and in works like these, the 
spirit often experiences a rest so delightful that the body 
sympathetically enjoys a share. Nor shall I count it a small 
thing, dear Master, that on Sabbath Thou often presidest at 
Thy table, inviting hungry souls to come and be nourished 
with Thy body and blood. If denied the happiness of meet- 
ing with many of Thy children in the wicked world, I will all 
the oftener frequent Thy own company, and imbibe strength 
from fellowship with Thyself. 

On no day of the week, however, after having given twelve 
hours to labour, will I consent to be defrauded of the privilege 
of dedicating at least one evening hour exclusively to Thee. 
Nor will I ever desist from prayer because at the time I may 
feel no pleasure in it. No. For that very reason will I press 
all the more closely to Thy heart, until my own again has 
caught the warmth. I consider it one of the most dangerous 
of Satan's temptations, when he tries to persuade a man, who 
can only pray feebly, rather not to pray at all. W r hereas, O 
gracious Master, Thou regardest the heart alone, and if we 
have but the will to pray aright, even that will itself is an 
acceptable prayer to Thee. What should we do with the coal, 
in which only a faint and glimmering spark still lives, but bring 
it into Thy presence, that with the breath of Thy mouth Thou 
mayst blow the spark into a flame ? Hast Thou not promised 
not to quench the smoking flax, but, in answer to earnest 



524 73- Outset in Life. 

prayer, to pour oil upon it, and make it blaze afresh ? And 
even though the utmost we can do is but to come before Thee, 
and show, with sorrow, the coldness of our hearts, saying, 
"Lord, if it be Thy will that I should be as at this moment I 
am, even so let Thy will be done ; " though this be all we can 
do, even this shall not be done in vain. Never does man pre- 
sent himself before the uncreated Light, with a heart humble, 
and weaned of all self-will, without at least reaping one advan- 
tage. He becomes more assimilated to that Light ; and it is 
so true, that 

The noblest prayer a suppliant ever pours, 
Is to resemble that which he adores. 

Well do I know the hypocrisy of my own heart. Often and 
bitterly does it complain of wanting strength, and yet, in seek- 
ing to obtain it, builds its only hopes on such things as change 
of outward position, and all manner of extraordinary helps and 
expedients, whereas there can be no doubt that, in the very 
commonest means of grace, Thou hast laid up an inexhaustible 
treasure of counsel, strength, and consolation, for those who 
truly desire them. Man, however, is like the patient in a 
fever, who, as if the heat were without him and not within, 
fancies all would be well could he but change his clothes or 
get into another bed. Or he is like one who goes a-searching 
on every side for the philosopher's stone, with which to manu- 
facture gold, and yet, at the very moment, the mine is beneath 
his feet, and all he wants is industry to use the spade. With- 
out industry, however, as we cannot obtain food for the 
body, so just as little can we obtain food for the soul. In 
all cases, by Divine appointment, bread must be paid for 
by the sweat of the brow ; and he who would enjoy the fire, 
must first endure the smoke. Lord, Thou art "a strength 
to the poor, a strength to the needy in his distress." 1 Fulfil 
to me Thy promise, and may I feel in my warfare that I war 
in Thy strength. I desire to be strong in no other strength 
but Thine ; and if Thou take sword and buckler to fight my 

1 Isa. xxv. 4. 






22- Outset in Life. 525 

battles, who is he that shall prevail against me ? My loins I 
will gird about with sincerity and truth, that I may learn to 
walk with certain step. I will put on the breastplate of right- 
eousness, of that righteousness which is of grace and not of 
works, that I may be of good courage, even in the evil day. 
I will cover my head with the helmet of salvation, that salva- 
tion which has been purchased for me, but with no endeavours 
of mine, and is reserved in heaven. I will hold before me the 
shield of faith, which quenches all the fiery darts of the wicked 
one, and my right hand shall wield the sword of the Spirit, the 
Word of God, which strikes even Satan dumb. 

Many are my adversaries, but my armour is complete ; 
arduous is the conflict, but abundant the strength ; hard the 
toil, but glorious the reward. O Thou, who, by Thy mighty 
power, wert able to keep a Lot righteous even among the 
citizens of Sodom, a Joseph chaste in the house of Potiphar, 
and a David pious at the court of Saul, forsake not me, Thy 
child, when walking through the great and tumultuous crowd 
who know not Thy name. Wide is the sea through which I 
have to steer my course, and high its swelling waves ; but 
grace is the breeze that fills the sails, my compass is faith, and 
my pilot, Christ. Of whom shall I be afraid ? 

The march is full of toil and pain 

Through this terrestrial life, 
And he who hopes the goal to gain 

Must boldly brook the strife. 
The foe who meets us face to face 

May safely be defied, 
But Satan treads with stealthy pace, 

And skulks or every side. 

Hence must we hardness still endure, 

And watch both day and night, 
Nor ever dream we are secure 

Though danger's out of sight. 
For, be the mournful truth confessed, 

We our ownselves betray, 
And hosts in ambush in the breast 

The foe's commands obey. 



526 74- Marriage. 

Ah me ! it is but hopeless work 

To keep the citadel, 
When traitor friends within it lurk, 

And foes without assail. 
In such a pass, nor bolt nor bar 

Yields any fence at all ; 
And comes not God to turn the war, 

The place mast surely fall. 

Come then, Thou great Almighty God 

Of hosts, for our defence, 
Whose arm in former ages brought 

Our sires deliverance. 
Courage, faint heart — dismay, farewell i 

Let doubt and terror cease. 
Jehovah stands as sentinel, 

And I may sleep in peace. 



74. 

Two water-drops that meet and mi?zgle, 
No art of man can e'er make single ; 
And wedlock's bond 'twixt man and wife, 
If twined in heaven, endures for life. 

Matt. xix. 6. "What therefore God hath joined together, 
let not man put asunder." 

THE solemn words have been at last uttered, " Until 
death shall separate you." This has indeed been for 
long the language of our hearts. Now, however, that it has 
been spoken by the lips of the minister, God hath joined us 
together. 

First of all, then, to Thee, O God, I present the offering of 
my gratitude. How great the boon, when to one human be- 



74* Marriage. 527 

ing Thou givest the heart of another, to be exclusively his own! 
I have been intimate with many a heart on this earth, but then 
I always knew that others shared its affections along with me. 
Now, however, there is a heart which I can claim as wholly 
mine, and that of all hearts the one I love the best. Thou 
givest all double, when Thou givest a man the heart with 
which he would most fondly share his all. Yes ; my property, 
my talents, my whole existence, are all bestowed upon me 
anew, in the gift which I this day receive from Thy hand. Oh 
forbid that that gift, dear and precious though it be, should 
hide from me the Giver ! No, Lord, never shall I forget that 
it was from Thy hand I obtained it ! I have to thank those of 
my fellow-men who intrusted the dear one to my care, and 
allowed her to become the companion of my way. I will thank 
herself for her consent, and my thanks to her shall consist in 
the most faithful love and service. It is to Thee, however, O 
Lord, and for Thy amen, that gratitude is properly and su- 
premely due. 

The father's smiles his joy reveal, 
The mother fond, the match to seal, 

Unites the lovers' hands. 
To wish them joy, with many a jest, 
And mirth on every face expressed, 

Arrive the smiling bands. 

At length the appointed morn is come, 
And friends and kinsmen crowd the room : 

The priest has spoke the word. 
Yet all that bridal pomp is vain, 
And parents' smile, and priest's amen, 

Without Thy blessing, Lord. 

We belong to Thee, O Lord, before we belong to each other, 
and before we give our hearts to each other we must first give 
them to Thee. Indeed the very reason why we are to become 
each other's is, that each may help the other to become more 
and more entirely Thine. 

There may be thousands who, on such a day as this, deem 
it justifiable to indulge only visionary dreams of joy and pleas- 



528 74- Marriage. 

ure, and who, in a kind of intoxication, make their entrance 
into a state involving duties undoubtedly sweet, but which are 
at the same time unspeakably serious. But I beseech Thee, 
Lord, vouchsafe to me a sober mind; and place before my eyes, 
in all its magnitude, the importance of my duties. She has left 
father and mother to follow her husband ; what sacrifices, 
then, do not I owe to one who has thus sacrificed all for me ? 
In the fullest sense of the word, I must make her the half of 
myself. Is it not the very nature of love to recognise a second 
self in the person who is its object? And if we do really find 
in the beloved object another self, should we not be willing to 
toil and bear, and sacrifice for her sake as much as for our 
own ? Teach me, O my God, to love in this fashion ; that so 
to live for her, and to suffer for her, may be the delight of my 
life. Even natural affection can make this an easy task, but 
unless sanctified by the love of Thee, natural affection will 
sooner or later give place to the love of self. It is so much 
more pleasing to our nature to be ministered unto, than to 
minister to another • and as thine own Word has appointed the 
man to be the head of the wife, we are greatly too apt to forget 
that the man exists for the wife's sake as much as the wife for 
the man's. We husbands are commanded to " love our wives, 
even as Christ also loved the Church, and gave Himself for it." 1 
Implant, then, O Lord Jesus, and root in my heart, that tender 
and devoted love which finds its happiness in ministering. May 
the attentions I pay my wife acquaint me with its nature, and 
the married state prove a school for its continual practice. 

But let all this be done in Thee, and before Thy face. Yes, 
Lord; forbid that I should ever make an idol of even the 
dearest object Thou hast given me upon earth. I must love 
her not along with Thee, but solely and entirely in Thee. Well 
did the apostle understand the dangers of the married state, 
when he says, " He that is married careth for the things that 
are of the world, how he may please his wife." 2 I thank Thee 
for having given me a wife who would herself take alarm were 

1 Eph. v. 25. 2 1 Cor. vii. 33. 



74- Marriage. 529 

she to see me setting my love of her above my love of Thee. 
No • it shall be a settled point between us, that as we both were 
Thine before we were each other's, so the best and only way 
of pleasing each other shall be by seeking to please Thee. O 
heavenly Love, Thou who gavest Thy very life to purchase us 
for a peculiar possession to Thyself, daily shall we admonish 
each other that we are Thi?ie, that neither of us may ever forget 
the solemn truth. Thou hast ordained the wife to be a help- 
mate to the husband, and the husband a helpmate to the wife, — 
in what better way can we help each other than by each helping 
the other to become more and more exclusively Thine own ? 

Mutual edification shall be our constant aim. No friend can 
edify another as a husband the wife, and a wife the husband. 
Who can see so deeply into the faults and frailties of the heart 
as they into each other's? Between parties so connected there 
can be no concealment. The veil must be dropped, and the 
inner man stand fully disclosed. If, then, the contract between 
them have been really formed with a view to mutual help, not 
so much in acquiring the perishing things of this life, but 
rather in striving after the blessings that are imperishable, how 
great the good they may do each to the other ! Oh give us 
sincerity and uprightness of heart, that there may be no con- 
cealment between us, how painful soever the disclosure may 
prove, of what we know must be displeasing to Thee. We shall 
make it our business to exhort, instruct, and reprove each other, 
until Thy holy light have transformed our inmost being, and assi- 
milated it to Thine image. We shall strengthen the hands that 
hang down, and encourage the fainting heart; byword and look 
inquiring from hour to hour, Is all right between thee and God ? 

It may be that Thou hast decreed for us the honour of rearing 
heirs for Thy kingdom. But how shall we rear others for 
Thee, unless we have first become Thine ourselves ? Whether 
so great a happiness shall be vouchsafed to us or not, we leave 
at Thy disposal. " Lo, children are an heritage of the Lord ; 
and the fruit of the womb is his reward." 1 

1 Psalm cxxvii. 3. 
2 L 



530 74- Marriage. 

But if, in Thy grace, Thou have destined it for us, then do 
we all the more earnestly beseech Thee first to make ourselves 
Thy true children, that so we may be qualified to rear others 
for Thy heavenly kingdom. " Whether we live, we live unto 
the Lord ; and whether we die, we die unto the Lord : whether 
we live, therefore, or die, we are the Lord's." 1 Resting on 
that text, we this day join hands ; with that text we now enter 
upon our way. From Thee cometh both to will and to do ; 
make Thy strength perfect in our weakness. 

Look down upon a loving pair, 

Who bring their meek and earnest prayer 

Into Thy presence, Lord. 
One fond desire we have and true, 
To serve thee still, in all we do, 

By action or by word. 

Yes, from this hour, so dear to both, 
In which we pledge our mutual troth, 

By hand in hand compressed, 
Be hand with hand united still, 
To do Thy good and holy will, 

Till in the grave we rest. 

And now, before the word we speak 
That knits the bond man must not break, 

We fain would know Thy mind. 
Lord, be the sweet conviction given 
To both, that Thou thyself, in heaven, 

The hallowed bond hast twined. 

Thy Spirit send to make us mild, 
Humble and chaste, and meek as child, 

In love conjoined to Thee. 
Give to affection's warmest glow, 
From soul or sense, howe'er it flow, 

Celestial purity. 

And should it be our lot to rear 
Young plants to grace Thy garden here, 

Or fairer bowers above, 
May children in their parents see 
Patterns of faithfulness to Thee, 

Integrity and love. 



1 Rom. xiv. 



7 5 • The Evening of L ife. 5 3 1 

75. 

&lje (tifamwQ of ILife, 

What means this knocki?2g at my gate ? 

A stranger old and thin 
Lingers without— as it grows late, 

Should I not call him in ? 

Yes, call him in without dismay, 

His looks are like thine own ; 
Who knows but he may force his way, 

If once impatient grown ? 

And call I will, though man and maid 

Grow pale, and hold their breath : 
My boding heart the truth hath said ; 

It is— it is— friend Death ! 

Isa. xxxviii. 1. "In those days was Hezekiah sick unto 
death. And Isaiah the prophet, the son of Amoz, came 
unto him, and said unto him, Thus saith the Lord, Set 
thine house in order : for thou shalt die, and not live." 

GOOD cause has he for gratitude to whom the Lord sends 
such a messenger, saying, " Set thine house in order, 
for thou shalt die ; " and this is the lot of all, excepting those 
who are cut off in the midst of their years. For let a man 
gradually grow old, and how many messengers, one after 
another, arrive, admonishing him to set his house in order ! 
Says not the proverb, — 

"Age, like a well-bred man, before 

He enters the house, knocks at the gate, 
Knocks at the window, knocks at the door, 
Cries at all corners, ' Hark, I wait ! ' " 

Alas for him who grows old without growing wise, and to 
whom the future world does not set open her gates when he 



% 
S3 2 7S- The Evening of L ife. 

is excluded by the present ! The Lord deals so graciously 
with us in the decline of life, that it is a shame to turn a deaf 
ear to the lessons which He gives. The eye becomes dim, 
the ear dull, the tongue falters, the feet totter, all the senses 
refuse to do their office, and from every side resounds the 
call, " Set thine house in order, for the term of thy pilgrimage 
is at hand." The playmates of youth, the fellow-labourers of 
manhood, die away, and take the road before us. Old age is 
like some quiet chamber, in which, disconnected from the vis- 
ible world, we can prepare in silence for the world that is unseen. 

There is nothing more forbidding than to see an aged person 
who refuses to give up a world which yet is giving up him. 
Even the unsanctified mind feels this conduct to be most 
unnatural ; although, doubtless, if a man have his treasure in 
this world only, his heart will also be where his treasure is. 
How then, O Lord, shall I express my grateful sense of Thy 
mercy, in having given me the assurance of an inheritance in 
heaven, and redeemed me from the bondage of this perishing 
world? Oh how wretched — how unspeakably wretched — 
should I be, if at this time of life I had still my God to seek ! 
It is hard for the old to undergo conversion and reform their 
ways. Even old age, perhaps, may have strength enough left 
to deplore the vain courses of the past ; but to enter upon a 
new path, and steadily and resolutely pursue it, must be diffi- 
cult for the old indeed. Justly, therefore, does the preacher 
say : " Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth, 
while the evil days come not, nor the years draw nigh, when 
thou shalt say, I have no pleasure in them. ... Or ever 
the silver cord be loosed, or the golden bowl be broken, or 
the pitcher be broken at the fountain, or the wheel broken at 
the cistern. Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was ; 
and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it." 1 

Even this, however, is not all ; for how impoverished should 
I feel if left in my silent, solitary hours, destitute of all my 
treasured recollections of God's gracious dealings towards me 

1 Eccles. xii. 1-7. 



7 5 • The Even ing of L ife. 533 

during the long pilgrimage of life ! If we can look behind us 
upon a vast extent of way, whose many thorny places and 
mountains and precipices we have safely traversed with a hold 
of the divine hand, we are then enabled, with cheerfulness and 
confidence, to look forward also to the hour when we shall 
have to cross the last deep gulf. A thousand trials have made 
us familiar with the hand, which will then also uphold us, and 
thus we muster courage for the final onset. 

" O death ! how bitter is the remembrance of thee to a man 
that liveth at rest in his possessions, to him that hath nothing 
to vex him, and that hath prosperity in all things ; yea, unto 
him that is yet able to receive meat," saith the son of Sirach. 1 
Yes ; and by what expedients do such men try to overcome 
thy bitterness ? Oh ! when I see them, like some beaten foe 
who retreats from fence to fence behind the last intrenchment 
— driven now from the joyous revelry of youth, and anon from 
manhood's keen enjoyments, until they are reduced at last to 
solicit a faint gratification from stimulating, perhaps, a languid 
palate — oh ! when I see them, like the worm which cleaves 
to the withered leaf, feeding on the wan and shadowy remem- 
brance of days never to return, and trying whether it may do 
them any good to forget that which they now no more can 
change, — how do I then, with my whole soul, exclaim, Thanks 
be to Jesus Christ, my Lord, who hath delivered me from the 
bondage of this corruptible world ! The poet says, — 

' ' Taught by some impulse from on high, men's minds 
Suspect the coming danger, as we see 
The waters heave before the approaching storm." 

But of you it may be said, — 

" They hear the wild winds lash the bursting sails ; 
At every joint the shivering vessel creaks ; 
But strike they will not, and go blindly down." 

How sweet, O death, is the thought of thee to the man who 
could never find a satisfying portion here below, but who, even 
1 Ecclus. xli. i, 2. 



534 75- T^ e Evening of L ife. 

amidst this fleeting life, still lived and leaned upon the pro- 
mises of that which is everlasting ! I do not quail before thy 
scythe — it can cut off nothing which I am not willing to leave 
behind, that the wings of my spirit may bear me unencumbered 
away. Old age ! for him who has a Saviour, thy rosy evening 
changes so insensibly into dawn, that there is scarce a night 
between ! 

Yes, I will set my house in order ; the task will not be diffi- 
cult. My accounts are all settled. The best of my property 
I take along with me. I leave my children to the great Father 
of the fatherless, to whom belong heaven and earth. My body 
I bequeath to the earth, and my soul to the Lord : He has sued 
for it longer than my life, and He bought it with His blood. 
Thus I lay every weight aside, and am ready for the journey. 
When the traveller has paid his debts in the city of a foreign 
land, how does he exult to pass the gate as he bends his steps 
homeward ! I have no more a single creditor upon earth, and 
I know I shall find none in the place to which I go. Oh ! it 
is a blessed thing to die, when we can say with Hezekiah : 
" Behold, for peace I had great bitterness ; but Thou hast in 
love to my soul delivered it from the pit of corruption : for 
Thou hast cast all my sins behind Thy back." 1 Yes, old men, 
the Blessed thistle is an herb of precious use. 2 It soothes the 
aching of the heart. But beside the cross of Jesus there grows 
a plant that is fairer still, and has a juster claim to be called 
Hear? s-ease. Nothing like it alleviates the bitter pangs that 
precede the hour of dissolution. 

Life ! I have enjoyed thee. Every draught from thy foun- 
tain was not bitter to my taste ; nor is all vain beneath the 
sun, provided we enjoy not the creature only, but in the crea- 
ture the Creator. That which made thee sweet, however, was 
the loving-kindness of my God, conveyed to me through all 
created things, as through so many pipes and channels, and 

1 Isa. xxxviii. 17. 

2 The carduus benedicttis, once so approved as a simple, especially in affec- 
tions of the heart. 



7 5 • The Evening of L ife. 535 

this loving-kindness of my God I shall take along with me. 
The earthen pipes through which it used to flow may indeed 
be shivered, but He who made them can be at no loss to find 
others to supply their place. Extinct, for ever extinct, is all 
the pleasantness of life, so far as the creature only was its 
source. But in so far as in all our enjoyments it flowed from 
the thought of that supreme hand by which these were con- 
ferred, the pleasantness of life exists, and will abide with us 
for ever. And in this way how may every day become a treas- 
ury, and the very poorest life exuberantly rich ! No, I cannot 
look back upon mine as if it were a mere vanity. Even now, 
when from my silent chamber I survey it all, my heart fills 
with an exultation which it cannot contain. I feel that I need 
a new heart and a new tongue to utter all that my God has 
done for me, and worthily to sing His praise. What sort of 
hearts can they have who find it difficult to understand how 
praising God for the mercies He has bestowed can constitute 
a main part of the felicity of the upper world ? Among the 
gifts of the Spirit of grace, this itself is one, that the longer we 
frequent the school of Jesus, so much the richer source of 
delight does thanksgiving become. I have always the impres- 
sion that here upon earth my gratitude has never yet found 
adequate expression. Words cannot utter, tears cannot ex- 
haust, and even the deep sigh, which escapes like a full spir- 
itual tear from my heart, cannot reveal it all. There will, 
however, be new tongues and new languages. Paul has told 
us of the tongues of angels • and on the day of Pentecost the 
apostles received tongues of fire, with which to declare the 
wonderful works of God. Oh, when the everlasting Pentecost 
arrives, surely, with the spiritual baptism which it brings, it 
will also bring new tongues, with which to praise the mighty 
works of God, in strains far loftier than here on earth our fal- 
tering lips could ever reach. 

Zion, thou city of my God, in spirit I am already enrolled 
among thy inhabitants 3 and although for a little I must con- 
tinue to sojourn in the flesh, my days shall be spent in prepa- 



5 3 ^ 75- The Evening of L ife. 

ration, that when at last I enter thy glorious streets, I may not 
appear as a stranger there. Whatever of thine, O earth, I 
cannot take along with me, let me forget — forget for ever. It 
is not worth remembering. But yet, while my respite lasts, 
it shall be my daily study to carry away from thee as much as 
I can, that it may be still a source of enjoyment to me when 
admitted into the everlasting tabernacles. And inasmuch as 
the very best of thy gifts need not be left behind, but may 
accompany me whither I go, why should I still cling to thee 
when I hear the cry, " Behold, the bridegroom cometh ! " At 
every season of life we should be as servants who wait for their 
master, with loins girded and lamps burning. Oh, how much 
the more proper is this for the man who has death already 
standing at his door ! 

Come, bridegroom, haste ! — Why dost thou stay ? 

The setting sun now dims his ray ; 

The shadows yon far mountains cast 

Along the plain are lengthening fast ; 

And all. the fond companions, reared 

About my side, have disappeared. 

Yes, all who once were mine are gone — 
I'm left in this bleak world alone, 
And in life's evening, cold and late, 
It is a weary task to wait : 
O bridegroom, mend thy pace and come, 
Open the door and take me home ! 

Sun of my life, thou sett'st to rise, 
And run thy course in brighter skies. 
Oh, then, how sweet to fall asleep, 
And think that morn ere long will peep, 
With rosy smile, the lattice through, 
And wake us into life anew ! 

Within my breast fresh warmth I feel ; 
Around me all is bleak and chill. 
Within, hope hails a world more bright ; 
Without, there's nothing gives delight. 
Here, friends have fled and gone to rest ; 
There, dwells the truest friend and best. 



7 6. The Death of the Christian. 537 

Hence with so eager gaze I wait 
Thine advent bright to ope the gate. 
Ah, bridegroom, if thy tarrying mean 
My heart from other loves to wean, 
Even now this blessed end is won — 
Thou art my love, and thou alone. 



76. 

Wfyz ©eatfj of tfje Christian. 

If in thy cool and silent bed, 
O grave I the ashes of the dead 

So sweetly rest, 
How passing sweet the rest must be 
Which waits the soitl from flesh set free, " 

Among the blest ! 

Rev. xiv. 13. " Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord 
from thenceforth : Yea, saith the Spirit, that they may 
rest from their labours; and their works do follow them." 

THERE lies the garment which the pilgrim wore, in sun- 
shine and in rain, from the beginning to the end of his 
earthly journey. What strange thoughts pass through the 
mind as we stand beside the dead — thoughts that never else- 
where occur ! How much I would still have to say to him — 
how much to ask him about — how many requests to make ! 
But his ear hears not — his mouth speaks no more. Methinks 
we would act more kindly towards our fellow-men, could we 
realise the feelings with which we see them dressed in their 
winding-sheets, and stretched upon a bier. 

Departed spirit, from the purifying furnace of tribulation 
thou hast passed into the presence of God ! At last the cover- 
ing drops from thine eye, and faith is converted into vision. 






53$ 7 6- The Death of the Christian. 

How is it with thee now ? Oh how shalt thou feel when from 
thy Master's lips, whose hand upheld thy goings, though His 
face thou couldst not see, thou shalt hear the words, " Good 
and faithful servant, enter into the joy of thy Lord," and when 
thy Lord's joy is reflected in thine own bosom? The fruit, 
has fallen in its season — it was fully ripe. Yes, departed 
saint, it has been thy appointed lot to ripen on the earth. 
Largely didst thou taste the pleasantness, and largely, too, the 
labour and sorrow of human life. But thou didst not taste 
them in vain. The work of thy hands without was also a 
work within ; and even thy secular employments were a build- 
ing up of thy soul for a temple to God. When on the evening 
of some sultry day the cart reaches the homestead, loaded with 
the golden sheaves, the members of the household all rejoice. 
Even so, O happy spirit, do I now behold thee entering thy 
heavenly Father's house amidst the exultations of the celestial 
host. Surely when there is joy so great in heaven, lamentation 
ought to be hushed on earth. Ah ! if from thy lofty dwelling- 
place thy voice could reach us here below, what else wouldst 
thou say but — weep not? We must then wipe away our 
tears. 

Even while sojourning on earth, thou didst not belong to 
us ; thou wert still thy Master's. And now that He has taken 
thee away, what remains but to thank Him for having lent 
thee to us so long, and — to hold fast the good which, through 
thee, as the means, we have received ? Blessed spirit, thou 
shalt still abide among us. Thou hast imparted to us so 
largely of what was best about thee, that, though now departed, 
we in a manner possess thee still. With the vividness almost 
of personal apparition, thou seemest to stand in the midst of 
us, so that we can take counsel of thee, and receive instruction 
from thy lips, after these have been closed by death. Thy 
business on earth was still to watch over and pray for us; 
and so faithfully, so fervently was it done, that the blessing of 
thine intercession is not yet exhausted, but, like a dew of God, 
will drop down upon us as long as we live. Nor shall even 



y6. The Death of the Christian. 539 

the vision of the light eternal efface us from thy memory, for 
the light eternal is the light of love. 

Fought out is thy fight of faith. We have learned from thee 
that it is possible for a man to endure as seeing Him that is 
invisible ; and with that lesson on our minds, we need not 
sorrow as those who have no hope. They have laid thee in 
the grave ; but that which they interred was not thyself, it was 
thy garment only; and with it have they buried the toils 
endured and the tears shed by thee all the time thou hadst it 
on. Yea, and thy very garment shall one day be given thee 
back, renewed by the hand of Omnipotence, and cleansed 
from every stain of weeping. For thyself, He who said, 
" Where I am, there also shall my servant be," has taken thee 
home ; and oh it is good to be there ! Why should we mourn? 
True, thou art no longer with us ; but He who was able to give 
us a father, a husband, a friend like thee, must himself be a 
greater Father, Husband, and Friend. Oh, when death re- 
moves from the midst of us one who, by all he said and did, 
was ever pointing to Him who is invisible, how do the hearts 
of survivors about his grave cling close and closer each to 
the other, and all to that unseen God ! Such a soul is like 
a ray emitted from the eternal sun. It returns to its source 
again ; and ever after, our eye can fix upon the sun a more un- 
averted gaze. We can no longer lean upon thy bosom ; but 
we shall lean all the more upon the bosom of our God. 

It is also a great blessing connected with the death of Chris- 
tian friends, that even after their decease the love we bear 
them still continues to exercise over us a salutary influence. 
Oh to meet with thee again ! is the voice of our longing hearts. 
We know, however, that there is no way by which we can 
reach the place where thou dwellest save that which led thee 
thither. Why are men so apt, when they think of meeting 
again, to figure it only as the inevitable sequel of death, forget- 
ting that beyond the grave there are several different roads ? 
Yes, glorified saint ! we shall see thee, we shall meet with thee 
again, for we shall strive to follow thee on the way thou didst go. 



540 J 6. The Death of the Christian. 

Oh, when from the last of the heights to be surmounted in 
the path of life we turn and survey the conflicts that lie behind, 
how insignificant they appear, and how blessed must that man 
be whose heart then bears him testimony that he did not 
shrink from them ! Standing, as I now do, beside the remains 
of one of God's soldiers who has thus victoriously accom- 
plished his warfare, I say to myself, All is over now, hard and 
insurmountable though for the time it appeared. How deep 
the stillness about the corpse ! Yes, calm peace at the hour of 
death is so great a good as to be cheaply purchased by braving the 
struggles of a long life. 

" The memory of the just is blessed." 1 Yes, thou sainted 
warrior of God ! the remembrance of the conflicts of thy life 
and of thy peace in death shall abide as a blessing among us, 
perpetually discoursing how the sufferings of time are not to 
be compared with the exceeding glory that shall be revealed. 
Thy funeral knell shall continue ringing in our inward ears till 
the last hour of our lives, admonishing us to live like thee, and 
like thee to die, that so we may one day enter thy everlast- 
ing rest. O Christ ! Thou who hast abolished death, and 
brought life and immortality to light, unite once more, in Thy 
eternal kingdom, those whom Thou didst here bring together 
in Thy love. Amen. 

Thine was a weary dream until 

The faltering pulse at last stood still ; 

And oft thy quivering lip and eye 

Bespake an inward agony ; 

But never yet by word revealed 

The woe, from all but God concealed. 

Oft, too, some vision bright would seem 
A while to soothe thee in thy dream. 
Yet soon, too soon, alas ! it fled ; 
And, silent and unnoticed, 
The night of grief, the mists of pain, 
Stole o'er thy troubled soul again. 

1 Prov. x. 7. 



76. TJie Death of the Christian. 541 

But death has come, the trance to break, 
And set thee free, and bid thee wake. 
Oh, when at last the dewy blaze 
Of glory gushed upon thy gaze, 
As oped to vision's light thine eye, 
Can language tell thine ecstasy ? 

Tell how transported thou didst sink, 
The flood of love and bliss to drink ; 
Tell how the joy that through thee streamed, 
First from thy kindling eyeballs gleamed, 
Then, quick as thought, thy bosom filled, 
And every nerve with rapture thrilled ? 

Too bright for truth the glory seems. 
' ' What if again my spirit dreams ? " 
I hear thee ask, in deep amaze, 
Till every pulse within thee says, 
Exult, O happy soul, and sing — 
This is the great awakening ! 

Yes, now at last thou art awake, 
No sleep for evermore shall break 
Thy work, thy rest : oh happy they, 
Escaped, like thee, from time's dark day, 
To bathe in heaven's unclouded light, 
And love and glory infinite ! 

Vain earth, with all thy toils, depart ! 
Thou hast no portion for the heart. 
Thou didst us rear, and for that boon 
We may not quite forget thee soon. 
But ah ! our home-sick spirits pine 
For fairer, happier scenes than thine. 



THE END. 



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